Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels
by lyokoMARVELanime
Summary: Sequel to MSGSP. A new darkness looms over the Earth when a dangerous force of former Decepticons arrive and assist the terrorist group of LOGOS. Can a long lost team of Autobots help Shinn and the Minerva save the world, or is there a deeper plot going on that not even Chairman Durandal himself knows about?
1. A Nightmare's Comeback

_**AN: [stage whisper] cue the music.**_

_**[Start "The Boys are Back in Town"]**_

_**AN: Ladies and Gentlemen, Bots and Cons, and all other lifeforms of all ages, give it up for the cast of Gundam SEED Prime!**_

_**[Kira, Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee, Cagalli and Athrun come running onto the set]**_

_**Kira: Hey everybody it is good to be back!**_

_**Bumblebee: Man I am so pumped! I finally get to be in these things, its for the first chapter of the new story, and we're starting the sequel!**_

_**Optimus: The feeling is shared by all of us Bumblebee.**_

_**AN: And now joining us, is the first Authors Note special guest character for Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels, Shinn Asuka!**_

_**Shinn: Hey everybody, Shinn is in the house!**_

_**Cagalli: Wait...waitwaitwait. Hold up a second. Is he seriously in this story too?**_

_**Shinn: Uh excuse me Princess. What would the SEED Destiny portion of the Gundam SEED Prime series be without...Shinn Asuka, pilot of the Destiny and first lead hero of Gundam SEED Destiny?**_

_**Cagalli: [Gives deadpan look]...A good story.**_

_**Shinn: Oh real mature bitch!**_

_**Cagalli: Like I need you to talk to me about maturity, bastard!**_

_**Shinn: Pathetic Politician!**_

_**Cagalli: Arrogant hot-shot!**_

_**AN: I thought you said that they'd be able to handle themselves if they were in a room together.**_

**_Athrun: [shrugs] Some things just never change._**

**_AN: Well moving on, you've all waited patiently and now the wait is over!_**

**_Megatron: Enough pleasantries, let's get on with the show!_**

**_Arcee: What's he doing here?_**

**_AN: Uh Megatron. Yeah you're not in this chapter, or the next few chapters._**

**_Megatron: I...I'm not?_**

**_AN: No you see the script here?_**

**_Megatron: Oh...well this is awkward._**

**_AN: Come on let's go over here. You want a doughnut?_**

**_Megatron: Yum._**

**_AN: Hey somebody get Megatron a doughnut!_**

**_Shinn: Ugh I can't work like this._**

**_Bumblebee: Well, how about I do the disclaimer, since I can do that now cause I've got my pipes back! Whoo!_**

**_lyokoMARVELanime does not own anything from either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

**_Optimus: Before anyone forgets, any names that are in bold indicate a new Transformers character to the Cybertron Cosmic Era when they are first introduced in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Nightmare's Comeback**

**It is the Earth year Cosmic Era 73. Two and a half years since the end of the conflict that the humans had called the Bloody Valentine War, and also two and a half years since humanity's first encounter with life beyond their world. Two and a half years since they encountered my kind and found themselves caught up in our war. I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and since our arrival on Earth, we have fought to bring peace to the human's world and in the process, we brought our war against the Decepticons to a supposed end. With Megatron having fallen in battle, it seemed that our war had at long last come to an end at the very same moment that the humans' war had, but I know that the Decepticons still pose a threat and that they are still out there somewhere.**

**In the time that had passed since the end of the humans' war and the stand still of our own, a new peace was forged between Earth and the PLANTs, the home of the new breed of humans known as Coordinators, and the Autobots have sought to ensure it stays that way. We have since lived among humanity, hiding in plain sight as we patrol their world to ensure that we are ready should the Decepticons ever return, but now it seems that a new problem has arisen among the world we have come to call our new home.**

**Word has recently reached us that the PLANTs have been taking advantage of Orb human resources and technology that had arrived in their nation during the previous war, and the Orb government had yet to receive any response to their requests for the PLANTs to cease their utilization of them, but what concerns me are the other rumors that have begun to arise. It is now believed that the PLANTs are hiding Autobot refugees in Z.A.F.T. and are not allowing them to leave their homeland or even make contact with any other Autobots. I do not know if this is true or even if it is some form of Decepticon trap, but one thing is certain, we cannot allow any indication of other Autobot survivors to go unchecked. As a result of this, and in order to avoid causing a diplomatic disturbance, an old friend has decided to travel to the PLANT colony known as Armory One to meet with the new PLANT Supreme Chairman. I can only hope that whatever she and her escorts find will not lead to a reigniting of the dark blaze that humanity had just escaped from.**

* * *

The hallways were rather quiet as the group that consisted of a Z.A.F.T. escort and the two representatives of Orb traveled to the waiting elevator that would take them out of the harbor, and it did not take long until the Orb chief representative's body guard, a familiar blue haired man that was wearing dark red sunglasses, black pants, a green shirt, and a black jacket, asked his charge, "Do you think that's the appropriate attire? Tell me you brought at least one dress with you."

The chief representative turned to reveal the amber eyed face of one Cagalli Yula Athha as she demanded, "What does it matter what I wear? Don't you think this is good enough?"

"For something like this, a little bit of acting never hurts. You know this already," her bodyguard then replied. "Look, don't pretend to be somebody you're not, but you don't want them to think you're an amateur. Although this is an unofficial visit, never forget for a moment that you are now a ruler of Orb."

"I know _Alex_," Cagalli replied. In the two years that had passed since the war, Cagalli had since assumed her father's previous position as chief representative of her nation, and since she was still young, being only eighteen years old, she still needed to be reminded from time to time that politics was a completely different battlefield compared to the ones from the previous war that she fought in.

A moment later, they had arrived in the elevator that would take them down to the street level where a car would be waiting for them. As they waited for the elevator to reach its destination, Cagalli pointed out, "So tomorrow's ceremony marks the first launch of new ship since the war ended. They're well aware of what I came here to discuss, so it's strange that they're holding the ceremony now in this place."

"That's true, but remember we were the ones that requested a meeting at their earliest convenience Representative Athha," Alex reminded the blonde. "I suspect that Chairman Durandal chose this location for our benefit. Perhaps he thought it would attract less attention than a visit to the PLANT homeland?"

Cagalli had to nod in consent of this as the elevator finally became illuminated by sunlight from outside the window. A moment later, they had come to a stop and their escorts led them to a waiting black car. Alex just waved his hand as he said, "We've already made arrangements of our own."

At their escorts' questioning looks, he simply pointed towards a nearby yellow sports car with black stripes that was parked a short distance away. The escorts then nodded and said that they would lead the way to the meeting place and Alex and Cagalli both moved to climb into the waiting car. Once they were in and on their way to the meeting place, Alex finally took off his sunglasses as he let out a sigh of relief. "Some days I wonder why I must always wear these things whenever we go out to deal with this kind of business," the emerald eyed man moaned.

"Hey you're the one who insists on going by a new identity, _Athrun_," Cagalli stated. It was true that shortly after Athrun had come to live with her and their other friends in Orb, the former Z.A.F.T. pilot had decided to change his name for reasons that only Cagalli seemed to know. Whenever their friends Kira and Lacus asked about it though, Athrun would just say he did not want to talk about it and just left it at that.

"Still, do you have any idea how irritating it is to wear these things when we're on a shuttle out in space," Athrun asked with a smirk.

"Hey can you guys flirt later? We are on the clock, and I can't exactly give my input on any conversations you two have when I feel it needs it right now, you know," a voice suddenly spoke out from the car's radio. The two instantly went silent and just sat in the car as they rode towards a large building where Chairman Durandal was waiting for them.

* * *

As this all this and the meeting that had begun as soon as the Orb representatives had arrived was going on, a group of two boys and a girl were walking along casually, clearly not showing any signs of being anything more than what they really were. The girl had only paused for a moment to gaze at her reflection in a nearby window and then, as one of the boys had stated, play the part of a ditzy airhead when she accidentally knocked into someone. "You okay," a male voice asked.

The girl looked to see a dark haired boy with crimson eyes looking at her worriedly before she glared at him and ran off. The boy only watched her go for a moment before he took off after his friend; both heading towards the shipyard where Cagalli's meeting was taking place, and neither one knowing that the girl and her friends were heading towards a similar location. As soon as the girl had caught up with her friends, they were picked up by a Z.A.F.T. jeep and driven to a hangar in Armory One and then simply let in with the swipe of a key card.

The three then pulled out weapons of their own and immediately charged in and killed anyone that was in the room with extreme precision and accuracy. Just when someone was about to strike them from behind, a large grenade landed in the room and sent their attackers flying. The three then looked to see a large red robot along with a white and brown one and a green one with a large claw on its back standing there as the red one said, "That should take care of any more resistance you encounter."

"Yeah assuming you didn't let everyone know we're here **Stinger**, yodel-yodel-le," the white and brown colored one commented.

"Will you shut it **Snowcat**," the green robot snarled. "You're yodeling is going to fry my processor one of these days."

_"__**Bonecrusher**, Snowcat, both of you shut it,"_ a voice then said over their comm. link. _"Just make sure that the Phantom Pain pilots get the suits and then go and do some damage to keep Z.A.F.T. and any possible enemy units busy."_

"Roger that," Stinger replied. "You get that Sting?"

"Yeah, we're already on it," the green haired boy replied as he and his two friends jumped into the mobile suits and started them up, making the necessary system adjustments as they did. The moment the three mobile suits were standing upright, they activated the Phase Shift armor and began to move them out. None of them noticed that one of the technicians had survived just enough to crawl over to a console and sound the alarm until it was too late.

* * *

At some point while all of this was happening, Cagalli's meeting with Chairman Durandal, who turned out to be a very tall man with shoulder length black hair and a kind, understanding face that wore a long white, black, and purple colored coat over his usual clothes, had moved from a small meeting room to roaming around outside among the hangars of Armory One, which were abuzz with activity in preparation for the launch of the new Z.A.F.T. ship. "You're a woman of courage princess, and you know what it's like to pilot a mobile suit in a real battle," Durandal complimented as they walked. "And you're the successor to the lion of Orb. Lord Uzumi defended the ideals of his nation to the end. He refused to bow to pressure, so how should we act, considering the current state of the world? I'm sure you already know the answer to that question."

As he said this, Athrun had noticed the familiar form of a Zaku sitting in one of the hangars, and was immediately reminded of his fallen comrade, Jaylen Westenfluss, who had been the pilot for the very first Zaku mobile suit. Athrun continued to glance around the Z.A.F.T. facility as Cagalli responded to the Chairman, "We will protect and maintain the ideals of our nation. It's as simple as that."

"You will not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack you, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations," Durandal recited, clearly knowing the Orb ideals very well. "Then we believe in the same noble sentiments. If possible that would be the best way, but it is not possible without power. I'm sure that you in particular can understand this Princess. Isn't that the reason Orb maintains full military facilities?"

Cagalli could see what the Chairman of the PLANTs was doing, and was quick to shake it off by asking him, "Please do me a favor and stop calling me 'Princess'."

Durandal gave a quick bow in apology before continuing. "Representative Athha, please forgive me; however, I have to wonder what exactly are you afraid of Representative? Pressure from the Atlantic Federation? Are they accusing you of giving us military aid contrary to the treaty?"

Cagalli discreetly clenched her fist at this because that was exactly what was happening, and Durandal had phrased that question almost as though he knew the answer already. "But of course there is no evidence that you've done so," Durandal continued on. "It's common knowledge that we welcomed refugees from Orb with open arms after the battle for your homeland. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that in order to make a living here they had to apply their technical skills. What else could they do?"

"But still," Cagalli then argued as she came to a stop in front of Durandal. "Too much strength will only invite another war."

"No Princess. Strength is a necessity. There will always be conflict," Durandal argued.

"Does that include strength from another world," Cagalli then demanded.

"Whatever do you mean by that," Durandal asked, honestly confused by that particular question.

"I'm talking about the rumors involving Autobots in the PLANTs," Cagalli stated.

"Autobots," Durandal asked.

"Please Chairman; don't try to pretend like you don't know. You and I are both well aware that every government leader is made fully aware of the Autobots' presence on Earth and of their conflict with the Decepticons and how it had ended up tying into the previous war," Cagalli then told him.

Durandal simply shrugged, having truly gotten so used to pretending as such for the benefit of keeping the Transformers' existence a secret that he was not all that familiar with openly talking about them with someone else who knew that they existed. "My apologies, Representative Athha. I must ask though what rumors are you referring to?"

"The ones that say that you are holding Autobot refugees from Cybertron here against their will and that you are taking advantage of their technical expertise and resources for the benefit of the PLANTs."

Durandal simply chuckled a bit in response as he replied, "I assure you Representative Athha, we are not holding any Autobots here against their will. If there truly are any Autobots here in the PLANTs I assure you that they only remain here because they want to be here, and if their existence here has not been made well known to the others then I can only assume it is because they don't want it to be."

Before anymore could be said by either side though, the alarms went off, and a nearby hangar was blasted open from the inside. Athrun and the Z.A.F.T. guards quickly pushed Cagalli and Durandal to cover as quickly as they could as chaos began to erupt all throughout the complex and three mobile suits burst forth and started destroying the other hangars before the mobile suits in them could deploy. "It's Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss! Someone's taken them," someone shouted.

"They what," Durandal shouted in shock.

"New models," Cagalli exclaimed. She and Athrun then looked towards the source of a series of explosions, and gasped in shock at the sight of the machine. It was a blue and grey colored mobile suit that carried a large lance in one hand and had a large pair of extensions on each shoulder and a cannon in its chest, but the one thing that stood out the most to Athrun and Cagalli was the configuration of the suit's head. It was a configuration that they were all too familiar with.

"That's a…" Athrun started.

"A Gundam," Cagalli then finished.

Looking around, the two saw that all three of the stolen mobile suits were actually Gundams, but they did not have time to stand around and watch as the destruction unfolded around them. Instantly, one of Durandal's men began to lead them to a nearby shelter, but before they got very far, an explosion had separated them from the green uniformed Z.A.F.T. soldier, and a more horrifying sight greeted their eyes. A large, red robot that was clearly a Cybertronian which held a striking resemblance to one of their Autobot friends was now standing before them and shooting at everything in sight, along with another pair or Cybertronians that were close by.

"Are those Decepticons," Cagalli shouted over the explosions.

"But why appear now of all times," Athrun asked. Neither one of them had time to think further on the matter, as the white and brown Cybertronian suddenly spotted them and used a pair of cannons on his back to shoot a large pair of ice beams directly at them. Athrun was quick to pull Cagalli behind some fallen debris, but it did not stop them from having to endure their attacker's incessant yodeling. Along with that annoyance and the obvious devastation that was happening around them, Athrun had no reason to hesitate as he told Cagalli, "Call him now!"

Cagalli did not hesitate for a second after that as she spun around and shouted out at the top of her lungs, "BUMBLEBEE!"

Her cry instantly drove the attention of the three attacking Cybertronians onto the two of them, and they all moved to fire their weapons on them, when suddenly, the sound of a radio playing the song "Dare" by Stan Bush reached their audio sensors. The three attackers turned to the source and saw the same sports car that Athrun and Cagalli had rode to their meeting in racing onto the battle field, just before it slammed into one of them. A minute later, the sports car swerved around and leapt into the air, transforming into the familiar gold and black striped form of the Autobot Scout that had been the first Autobot humanity had ever encountered; Bumblebee.

Bumblebee was quick to roll to his feet the minute he hit the ground and slammed a hard fist into the green Cybertronian with a claw on its back before landing a hard kick on the red one. "You know, all those times I complained about not getting all that much action, I never once meant this kind of thing," Bumblebee commented as he switched his right arm to its blaster mode and quickly moved over to Athrun and Cagalli's position. Bumblebee then looked towards his current charge's bodyguard and said, "There's a downed Zaku nearby with its hatch open. Get Cagalli into it and then head straight for the Z.A.F.T. ship. It's our best bet of getting you guys to safety at this point."

"Roger that," Athrun replied. He then grabbed Cagalli's hand and did as Bumblebee told him to. As they went Athrun saw Cagalli was throwing a worried look towards her Autobot friend. "Don't worry Cagalli. It's Bumblebee, he's not about to get beaten by three 'Cons and some stolen mobile suits."

Cagalli nodded in consent at this, knowing Athrun was right and then asked him, "Are you sure that you know how to even pilot one of those Zakus though?"

Athrun just smirked in response and stated, "Once a mobile suit pilot, always a mobile suit pilot, and don't forget that one of my fallen comrades was the pilot of the very first Zaku."

Bumblebee watched the two go for another moment until they were inside the green mobile suit and started it up. The scout then returned his attention to his opponents as he aimed his blaster towards them, taking a moment to study them as he did, until he exclaimed, "Well, well. Stinger, Snowcat, and Bonecrusher of the **Eradicons**. Didn't think I'd see you guys around this corner of the galaxy."

"Laugh all you want cadet, because you won't be laughing when I'm done with you," Stinger snarled.

"Hate to burst your bubble Stinger…actually, no I don't…but its scout now," Bumblebee snarled, and he then charged towards the three, firing some shots that would not damage the colony from his blaster as he did. Once he was close enough he was quick to knock Snowcat and Bonecrusher away, but found that Stinger would be more of a problem as his red look-a-like was able to match him nearly move for move and blow for blow. Whenever Bumblebee threw a punch, Stinger was able to counter with just the right jab, and it continued this way until Bumblebee finally broke the pattern and switched his fist into a blaster at the last minute before firing it directly into Stinger's face right as he threw a hard punch.

Bumblebee paused for a moment to see if any other enemies were about to attack him when he saw that Athrun and Cagalli's Zaku was being attacked by the Gaia and the Chaos. He was about to move to help them when suddenly, Bonecrusher attacked him from behind with his large claw. Before he could counteract this attack, Bumblebee suddenly found his leg frozen in a block of ice, courtesy of Snowcat. Bumblebee was afraid for a moment that he would have to just stand there and watch his friends get torn apart while Bonecrusher and Snowcat blasted him to bits when suddenly, Bonecrusher was hit in the back by an energon blast.

Turning to the source, all the three Eradicons and Bumblebee could see for a moment was a white blur of another Cybertronian that seemed to hit something on his arm before jumping through a building like a ghost through a wall. The moment he came out the other side, he was had transformed into an Indy Five Hundred car with double thirty eights on his sides and a white and blue paint job. He did not stay this way for long as he raced up to Bonecrusher and transformed back to robot mode to land a hard kick onto the former Constructicon. Once he landed on the ground, he spun his blaster towards Snowcat and Stinger and drove them back long enough to for Bumblebee to pull himself free from Snowcat's ice.

The white and blue colored Cybertronian then shifted his blaster back into a hand and stood at attention as he saluted and declared, "Cybertron Elite Guard Graduate **Smokescreen**, at your service sir." Smokescreen's eyes then widened the minute he realized who he was speaking to. "By the AllSpark…You're Bumblebee! It is an honor to meet you sir, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Uh thanks," Bumblebee replied. "But two things. One, don't call me sir, and two, Smokescreen was it?"

"Yes sir…I mean Bumblebee," Smokescreen asked eagerly.

Bumblebee pointed in Bonecrusher's direction as he stated, "He and his pals are getting back up again."

Smokescreen looked to see that Bumblebee was correct and immediately assumed a fighting stance alongside Bumblebee. "This is so awesome! I'm now fighting alongside Bumblebee," Smokescreen practically squealed in joy.

"Focus kid," Bumblebee reprimanded, feeling a bit weird at being on the other end of this kind of thing. "We've still got hostiles aiding an unknown human terrorist group and the people I'm supposed to be protecting are in that Zaku that the stolen Z.A.F.T. mobile suits are currently attacking."

"Don't worry, my commander and the rest of my unit are already on the case, along with one of Z.A.F.T.'s top pilots," Smokescreen immediately replied.

"What? Who're you talking about," Bumblebee asked. The minute he asked that, an explosion sounded in the direction of the Chaos, and Stinger was immediately assaulted by a barrage as well. Bumblebee looked towards the source of what had attacked Stinger to see a large, red and black fire truck rolling onto the scene at full speed, and what appeared to be a small, blue and white fighter plane flying in as well.

A moment later, the plane folded up and connected to another pair of flying machines that unfolded to reveal another Gundam that was all grey. Just before Bumblebee could gasp in shock at this development, a fourth flyer detached a large, red piece of equipment that seemed to have a large pair of swords on the back, and the equipment instantly attached to the recently arrived Gundam, which quickly activated its Phase Shift armor and turned red and white as it did. The red and white Gundam then landed next to Athrun and Cagalli's Zaku and whipped out a pair of anti-ship swords before connecting the two blades together for a massive double bladed sword.

Bumblebee and everyone else on the battlefield other than Smokescreen could only stare in awe at the sight of the new arrival, but Bumblebee found something to be an even greater shock when the fire truck had finally rolled to a stop after slamming Stinger aside. The next minute, the fire truck began to transform and revealed itself to be a large Cybertronian that was almost the same height as Optimus, with broad shoulders and a face that appeared to have a bit of a goatee on it. The red Cybertronian then pulled out a double bladed sword of his own that was similar to the new Gundam's while Bumblebee could only gasp in shock at the revelation of who this particular Cybertronian was. "Sentinel," Bumblebee exclaimed. "**Sentinel Prime**?!"

Sentinel looked towards Bumblebee and simply requested, "Name and rank soldier."

Bumblebee instantly stood at attention himself and replied, "Sir! Autobot Scout Bumblebee of the unit Team Prime at your service sir."

Sentinel raised an eyebrow in confusion for a moment. "I think I would remember having the Autobots' legendary scout in my unit sir."

"Uh sorry for the confusion sir, but I'm part of the new Team Prime," Bumblebee quickly corrected.

"New Team Prime? What do you mean by that," Sentinel requested.

"With all due respect sir, I think it would probably be better if we discussed this conversation at another time," Bumblebee pointed out, nodding in the direction of the mobile suits that were currently in a stand-off and the Eradicons.

Sentinel nodded in agreement at this and quickly tapped his comm. link. "Protectobots, status report."

_"__Evac here sir,"_ was the reply he received. _"We've nearly evacuated everyone to safety, and Prowl's just reported that Chairman Durandal has boarded the _Minerva_. Also, Red Alert just went to assist the Z.A.F.T. pilots Lunamaria Hawke and Ray Za Burrel in freeing their mobile suits from some fallen rumble."_

"Understood. Have Red Alert inform the two pilots to make their way here as soon as they are able to," Sentinel then ordered. "_Xanthium_, status report."

_"__Blaster here yo. We're ready to roll and are now just waitin' for your say so,"_ came a reply in rap form.

"Excellent. Are there any other forces you can send our way as backup," Sentinel then asked.

_"__No problem there Sentinel Prime, sir. Backup's already headed your way in the form of a blur."_

Sentinel groaned in annoyance at Blaster's rapping and simply said roger before he cut communication and assumed a fighting stance alongside Bumblebee and Smokescreen. As he did, he heard the pilot of the red and white Gundam call out, "Why're you doing this? Why now? Are you trying to start another war?!"

The sword wielding Gundam then charged directly at the Gaia and engaged the black machine in sword combat. The Chaos then raised its rifle in an attempt to help its ally when it was suddenly shoulder jacked by Athrun and Cagalli's Zaku. When Bumblebee saw this, it ended up being the moment of hesitation that the Eradicons were waiting for, and Stinger immediately acted on it. Before the red 'Con could get close enough to land a hit, Smokescreen intervened and kneed Stinger in his gut before kicking him away. "Whoa. I just saved Bumblebee," Smokescreen whispered. He then excitedly shouted, "I just saved Bumblebee!"

"Don't let it go to your head rookie, but…thanks all the same," Bumblebee then told Smokescreen.

"Why are you so distracted soldier," Sentinel asked.

"I was on assignment here as a temporary Guardian for the Orb chief representative when this happened, and she and her human bodyguard are the ones currently inside of that Zaku," Bumblebee stated.

Sentinel looked towards the Zaku that Bumblebee had mentioned and immediately detected a pair of human life signs inside of it. "I understand," Sentinel stated as he tapped his comm. link again. "Roadblock, Inferno, I need you two at my location now. I have a soldier here who will need some covering fire as he evacuates his human charges to safety aboard the _Minerva_."

_"__Understood sir,"_ were the replies, which almost sounded like the same voice was saying it in stereo. Bumblebee nodded in thanks to Sentinel and immediately raced over to the Zaku, blasting anything in his way as he went.

Suddenly, all of Armory One shook under the force of an explosion, disorienting everyone, and giving the three stolen Gundams the opening they needed on the mystery one. The Gaia quickly rushed in, causing the pilot to lose one of his swords, and the Chaos and Abyss were about to follow up when a pair of beam blasts suddenly came at them from out of nowhere. Bumblebee and the three thieves looked to see that two Zakus, one white and one red, were racing onto the battlefield to support their ally.

The two teams of three mobile suits were soon engaged in evenly matched combat, but it was clear that the Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss were running low on power and it seemed that only the Gaia was willing to keep fighting. Just when it seemed that it could really go either way, the Gaia suddenly froze in midair, just floating where it was. Seeing his chance, the pilot of the red and white Gundam quickly tossed a beam boomerang at the Gaia, only for it to be knocked away by the Chaos as it returned fire. A moment later, the three stolen machines were racing off in a full retreat, and the three Z.A.F.T. suits were quickly moving to pursue them.

Seeing that the Z.A.F.T. suits and Sentinel's team were able to deal with the retreating stolen machines, Bumblebee was quick to start escorting the Zaku that Athrun and Cagalli were in towards the large, black Z.A.F.T. warship that was still docked nearby, which he assumed was the _Minerva_. Suddenly, Bumblebee heard another explosion, and he quickly turned to see that the red Zaku was beginning to fall out of the sky, heading towards the _Minerva_. The problem was it did not seem like it would make it on its own. Then suddenly, a yellow blur swooped in and launched a pair of cables that quickly attached to the red mobile suit.

Bumblebee then looked towards the source of the cables and saw a yellow helicopter flying overhead which had the Autobot insignia on its side. "I can't get you all the way there Miss Lunamaria," the helicopter stated.

Lunamaria was about to say to just get her close enough the _Minerva_ when both she and the helicopter both heard a horn blaring. They looked to see Bumblebee in his vehicle mode racing towards the _Minerva_ along their path and the helicopter Autobot knew exactly what the scout was planning, so he moved towards the black and red ship as quickly as he could and then released the red Zaku when he was as close as he could go. Lunamaria was starting to panic from inside her mobile suit, and tried desperately to fire the thruster, but a loud thud showed her that she did not have to worry. Bumblebee had raced up a piece of rumble that had ended up in the perfect position to be a make-shift ramp and transformed to his robot mode in mid-air to catch the red mobile suit just before he landed on the _Minerva_ himself.

Bumblebee then helped guide the red machine into the hangar of the new Z.A.F.T. ship and once they were inside he stepped back so that he could be as out of the way as possible, ignoring all the looks and gasps of awe from the deck crew as he did. Not a minute later, the pilot of the red Zaku climbed out, revealing Lunamaria to be a young girl with violet-red hair and indigo eyes dressed in a red Z.A.F.T. uniform, a pink skirt, black leggings, and white boots. To be honest, she looked to be only a year younger than Kira and the others to Bumblebee.

He did not have much more time to dwell on this as the familiar form of the Zaku that Athrun and Cagalli had borrowed suddenly came aboard the ship as well, with the two descending from the cockpit a moment later. Bumblebee was instantly worried when he saw that Cagalli was holding her head almost like she was nursing an injury and was quick to rush over when he heard Lunamaria shout out, "Hold it you two!"

Bumblebee looked to see that the violet-red haired girl had already moved to pull a gun on Athrun and Cagalli along with two other Z.A.F.T. soldiers and he was instantly reminded of when Arcee had told him about how Athrun and Cagalli first met. Knowing this, the scout shook his helm as he thought to himself, _Athrun just can't seem to meet any girls without the girl pointing a gun at him can he?_

Suddenly, everyone's attention was diverted for a moment as an announcement went out saying that the _Minerva_ was preparing to take off, but it was only for a moment until Lunamaria quickly drove everyone's attention back to the three supposed intruders aboard the ship. "Identify yourselves now. You're not in the military are you, so what were you doing in that machine, and what's the story with your big friend there?"

"Is that really how you thank someone who helped save your life," Bumblebee asked as he readied his own blaster. "Oh and before you go saying I shouldn't be using a Cybertronian weapon aboard a human vessel, you should know, this isn't the first time I've pulled my blaster on one, so don't think I won't use it here."

"Lower your weapons," Athrun then calmly ordered. "This is Miss Cagalli Yula Athha, a representative of the Orb Union. I'm her attendant, Alex Dino, and our 'big friend' is the Autobot scout Bumblebee. We were meeting with the chairman when we were caught up in the commotion, and our only option was to take this machine and defend ourselves since Bumblebee was handling the unknown Decepticons that were attacking."

"Eradicons," Bumblebee corrected, getting everyone's attention. "I'll explain later."

Athrun then brought everyone's attention back on track as Lunamaria lowered her gun. "The representative has been injured. The chairman is aboard this ship isn't he? We need to see him immediately."

Then Bumblebee's expression became somewhat panicked. "Wait. Did you say that Cagalli was injured," Bumblebee demanded. "How…when…Argh! A…lex did you forget that we promised both Kira and Arcee that we would keep her from getting so much as _one scratch_ on her on this visit?! What part of that did you forget out there?!"

Before Bumblebee could continue to rant any further, a silver-blue blur cut him off and nearly sent him crashing into the wall had he not caught himself in time. Looking towards the source, Bumblebee saw a sports car of the same color as the blur that had knocked him over and glared towards it, knowing it was an Autobot and snarled, "What was that for? Do you realize you could've gotten someone killed doing that zippy?"

At that last word, the Autobot transformed into a slim figure with a triangular head and stated in a very fast voice, "First of all, the name's not Zippy. In fact I can't recall a 'Bot ever being named Zippy so one can only assume that you came up with Zippy as a reference to my speed, which may be accurate but a lacks a certain creativity. More to the point, the name's **Blur**. I'm the Autobot Chief Operations officer of the _Xanthium_ under the direct command Sentinel Prime. Our ship was in the area monitoring the situation and was about to move to help when we came under attack by Lockdown and his Eradicon forces at which point we had Eradicons on the ground, Eradicons in the air, Eradicons on the deck, Eradicons, Eradicons, Eradicons! If we shoot them off the ground, they're still in the air, and if we shoot them out of the air, they're still on the deck, so where did that lead us? Nowhere, that's where but then-"

"Whoa stop," Bumblebee hollered, and it was at that point Blur noticed that everyone was gawking at him weirdly. Bumblebee then coughed and then asked, "Sorry Blur, but can you repeat that last part?"

"Which last part?"

"Uh, let's start with everything after 'The name's not Zippy' and go from there."

Everyone suddenly felt the ship shake, indicating it was about to head out into space, when suddenly a red alert started to sound throughout the ship. "Is this ship about to go into battle," Athrun asked.

"Looks that way pal," Bumblebee replied.

"Athrun," Cagalli then said worriedly, leading Bumblebee to slap his forehead at the blonde's moment of forgetfulness.

Lunamaria and every Z.A.F.T. soldier that heard her gasped in shock as the haired pilot looked at the blue haired man and exclaimed, "Athrun? As in Athrun Zala?!"

Blur then suddenly looked to Bumblebee and stated, "Sir, Sentinel Prime says that the _Xanthium_ is on its way to backup the Impulse and the Zaku Phantom which have currently engaged what is believed to be the human's command enemy force along with Lockdown's ship, _Tidal Wave_."

Bumblebee silently snarled as he realized in that moment that the fact Lockdown's mother ship was here was definitely a bad sign.

* * *

Outside of Armory One, the Impulse Gundam and the Zaku Phantom had just lost sight of the three stolen Gundams and needless to say, Shinn Asuka was not a happy about that. That was when he suddenly received an alert right before he had to block a beam blast with the Impulse's shield. Ray was about to move to help his friend when he spotted both the _Minerva_ heading out and what was obviously the enemy ship approaching from nearby. The next thing that he saw though was a sight that anyone would find greatly horrifying if they knew of the terrors that came after it.

It was a massive Cybertronian ship with a dark emerald and silver color scheme with lightning patterns on the sides and it clearly had seriously heavy armaments on it. On the side of the ship, one could see what looked like a silver, modified version of the Decepticon insignia, but the horns on the top of the head seemed to curve outward and the bottom of the head had a pointed pair of extensions that seemed to emphasize greater deviousness. On the bridge, was the ship's commander, **Lockdown**, leader of the Eradicons, and he was prepared to give the order to open fire on the two mobile suits and the Z.A.F.T. ship that was just emerging from the PLANT when suddenly the ship was bombarded by a series of explosions.

Looking to the source of the attack on Lockdown's ship, everyone could see a slightly smaller Cybertronian ship that was reminiscent of an Earth space shuttle when it was prepared for lift off. The ship itself had a silver and red color scheme and on the sides and front of the ship was the Autobot insignia in a shinning, gold color.

Everyone who was able to see these two massive ships, was able to tell instantly, that a new chapter had just begun in the nightmare that was the war for Cybertron.

* * *

**_AN: Okay that should take care of Megatron for a while. Seriously how can you forget that you were killed in a previous story?_**

**_Shinn: Hey I feel like I should complain about my lack of screen time in this story._**

**_AN: Uh Shinn, I hate to tell you this man, but your end of the story pretty much went the same way so we figured we focus on the Transformers side of the story since more changed their than anywhere else._**

**_Cagalli: Hmph, serves you right brat._**

**_Shinn: You want to go another round?_**

**_Cagalli: Just show me someone who can actually be a challenge and I'll go anytime pal!_**

**_Kira: Aaaaaaand there they go again._**

**_Bumblebee: Yep._**

**_AN: We'll let them deal with it. Anyhow, moving on. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels, and are eager for more to come. Now with that said, onto the preview!..._**

**_The _****Minerva****_ and the _****Xanthium****_ rendezvous with one and other before beginning pursuit of the Earth Forces vessel, _****Girty Lue****_, while Athrun, Cagalli, and Bumblebee become better acquainted with some of the mystery Autobots that they had encountered in Armory One. Just who else is on Team Sentinel Prime, and what other terrors await them all in the upcoming battle between the new Z.A.F.T. ship and the long lost Autobot vessel? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 2: Facing the Phantoms****_. Strike hard against your new foes Impulse and Sentinel!_**

**_Please read and review, and we'll see you next time!_**


	2. Facing Phantoms

_**AN: And we are back with chapter 2! Wow the number of views for this story after only the first chapter are amazing, and I am so glad that you guys are eager for more of Gundam SEED Prime.**_

_**Shinn: Hey are you going to answer some reviews now, or are you going to go on about what's to come in the story like how Kira and Optimus...**_

_**AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control panel]**_

_**Shinn: Wait what? [Get's hit by a falling anvil. Take a moment before he finally pulls himself out from under it.] What the hell was that?!**_

_**Cagalli: I guess I should've warned you, he does that whenever someone tries to give something away.**_

_**Shinn: I know that much! I meant why am I the first to get hit like that when it was always YOU who tried to give away spoilers?!**_

_**Cagalli: Well sorry to burst your bubble, but I learned my lesson from the last story. There is no way that I'm going to slip up and say something like the exact details on what happens when Kira gets back in the Freedom again.**_

_**Shinn: Um...isn't that a spoiler though?**_

_**AN: No. Everyone knows that Kira's going to pilot the Freedom again, that's not going to change. But to answer your earlier question Shinn I will answer some reviews.**_

_**Cagalli: Okay then how about this one from "Lone Gundam"?**_

_**AN: Ah yes the matter of why Shinn is still in Z.A.F.T. Well we'll give a small little tid bit on that in this chapter, but you'll have to wait until the next chapter for full details.**_

_**Shinn: That and like I said last chapter, what would this story be without me in it?**_

_**Cagalli: And like I said last chapter, a good story.**_

_**Shinn: Oh you want to go another round bitch!**_

_**Cagalli: Anytime bastard!**_

_**AN: Do I have to separate you two?! No? Then shut it and let me answer this review from "CBOperative4". That question will actually be fully answered in this chapter.**_

_**Shinn: And finally there's one from "howard576"**_

_**AN: That question will also be answered next chapter as well. Now then onto the story! Oh and like last time, new Transformers characters that are finally getting an official introduction to the readers will have their names in bold.**_

_**I do not own anything from either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 2: Facing the Phantoms**

Shinn and Rey were not able to take in the sight of the two Cybertronian ships for long, as the one who had initially attacked the Impulse after it had the left the colony, which turned out to be a mobile armor, had resumed his attack on the now blue and white machine. Ray was preparing to move and help his comrade when suddenly he found himself being bombarded by a barrage of energon blasts. Rey looked to see, much to his surprise, a light blue helicopter and a black jet flying towards him continuing to fire said barrage. Rey was about to engage this enemy when suddenly they too were attacked from an unknown location.

Looking in the direction that his attackers were hit from, Rey could now see that a pair of helicopters had flown out of the silver and red ship, one being green and yellow, and the other being black with dark blue highlights. The green and yellow helicopter then called out, "We'll handle these two; you go help your friend."

Rey nodded in thanks as he turned his Zaku towards the battle to assist Shinn, all the while, the light blue helicopter was cackling, "You've got to be seriously messed up to think you can take us **Springer**."

"Yeah keep laughing it up **Cyclonus**," Springer retorted as he fired a barrage on the Eradicon.

The jet then saw a chance to launch a surprise attack on the two mobile suits, when Springer's comrade suddenly flew in and transformed into his robot mode, which seemed to have samurai styled armor, and threw some small knives at the jet. "It would be dishonorable to interfere in another's fight, but then you would know nothing of that **Thrust**," the samurai Autobot said in a sagely tone.

"Please spare me of your talk about honor. You're not exactly one to talk on the subject yourself **Drift**," Thrust retorted as he commenced firing on Drift. Drift was quick to respond to his opponent's attack and immediately blocked all of Thrust's shots with his swords before he reassumed his helicopter mode and began taking evasive action.

The battle between the four flyers and the battle between the two mobile suits and mobile armor raged on for another few moments until finally the _Minerva_ had arrived on the scene to open fire on the mother-ship of Phantom Pain while the large silver and red ship recommenced firing on Lockdown's ship. At that moment, the two enemy flyers and the mobile armor quickly returned to their respective vessels and began to withdraw from the area, and upon seeing their own ship send them a return signal, Ray and Shinn returned to the _Minerva_ as well while Drift and Springer simply flew back to their ship.

* * *

The moment he had returned to the ship, Neo Roanoke had quickly climbed out of his mobile armor and headed straight for the bridge. The moment he arrived on the bridge of the _Girty Lue_, he was instantly giving orders. "Detach all propellant tanks and prepare to detonate them! Leave the arms attached! Let them get a taste of that. Meanwhile, raise bow to thirty five, turn ten to port, maximum thrust!"

"Sir, what should the _Tidal Wave_ be doing," Roanoke's current second in command asked.

"I'm sure Lockdown will think of something on his own," Neo replied, and he was right in the judgment as Lockdown was already giving out his orders on the _Tidal Wave_.

"Prepare to release Thermo Cluster Mines, and set them to detonate when they're in proximity to the enemy ship's hull," Lockdown ordered.

* * *

The moment Rey and Shinn had climbed out of their mobile suits, the Impulse pilot noticed that the same Zaku that had helped him fight against the stolen Gundams was in the hangar along with, to his confusion, a yellow sports car with black stripes. He then noticed Blur was standing off to the side against the wall with his arm crossed, and Shinn could not help but wonder what the fast moving Autobot was doing on the _Minerva_ when he should have been on the Autobot ship right then. He was suddenly stirred from his thoughts when the whole ship suddenly shook under the force of an explosion.

Shinn quickly turned to head back to the Impulse while Rey raced over to an internal comm. phone on the wall. "Bridge, what's going on," Rey asked. When the blonde received no reply, he cursed aloud and immediately floated towards the elevator to head for the bridge himself, only mildly noting that Blur had removed himself from his perch on the wall to grab hold of something to keep himself standing as he tapped his own comm. link.

"Blur to _Xanthium_, what just happened out there? Is the ship okay? Can anyone hear me? Is this blasted comm. link even working," Blur asked in his usual high speed voice.

* * *

"Bart, what're the enemy ships' positions," Talia Gladys, the _Minerva_'s captain, demanded.

"Just a moment ma'am, I haven't got it," Bart replied.

"Activate CIWS and fire anti-beam depth charges. They'll be firing on us now," Talia then ordered her crew.

"Found it," Bart then called out. "Red eighty eight, mark six Charlie. Distance five hundred."

"That took nerve," Talia snarled as Rey entered the bridge. "Making their escape like that."

"We seem to be facing a pair of first class units," Durandal observed.

"All the more reason why we mustn't let them get away. Imagine those machines in the hands of such a team, not to mention with Decepticon allies like those," Talia stated grimly. She then turned to Durandal to tell him, "It's too late to have you disembark now Mister Chairman, and I believe we should continue our pursuit of that ship. What's your opinion on that sir?"

"Captain there's no need to worry about me," Durandal reassured. "If we were to neglect these embers, imagine what kind of inferno they could eventually become. Frankly the thought frightens me. Our duty now is to recapture those machines or in failing that destroy them."

Talia smiled as she thanked the chairman for his consent before she commenced giving out orders once again. "This ship will commence a renewed pursuit of the enemy known as Bogey One. Set course yellow alpha, engines to maximum."

At this point, the deputy captain, Arthur Trine, announced the _Minerva_'s mission to the rest of the crew and all other Z.A.F.T. ships in the vicinity as the ship immediately got underway, and looking out the window as the bridge was raised to its standard level, the crew could see that the Autobot ship, _Xanthium_, was heading out as well on the same course. "Please use the captain's cabin to get some rest Mister Chairman," Talia offered Durandal. "The _Minerva_ prides itself on being a fast ship, but the enemy vessels are no slouches either. Nothing will happen for a little while anyway. Rey will escort you to your quarters."

On the inside, Rey was happy to do so, but on the outside he continued to show the appropriate level of professionalism as Durandal stood up to leave with the young man. At that moment though, Lunamaria suddenly contacted the bridge to give a report. "The battle prevented me from reporting this earlier," the young woman stated. "But, as the ship got underway we took a Zaku into our hangar with two civilians onboard, and at the same time, we had to bring a pair of Autobots aboard as well, one of which had actually helped me to ensure that I was able to get aboard in my damaged Zaku as well. We took them into custody and the civilians claim to be Representative Cagalli Yula Athha of the Orb Union and her personal attendant. They requested medical attention and a meeting with Chairman Durandal."

"The princess? How did she end up here," Durandal softly wondered aloud.

"I acted on my own and had the medic see to them ma'am. They're presently resting in the officers' quarters," Lunamaria then finished.

"And the two Autobots," Talia asked.

"One of them claimed to be the operations chief of the _Xanthium_, Blur, and the other claimed to be," Lunamaria paused for a moment to check the pad she held in her hand, still not quite believing it herself. "The Autobot scout, Bumblebee, who says he was acting as temporary Autobot Guardian for the representative."

Everyone on the bridge then gasped in surprise. Despite the fact that the Transformers had become something of a legend to most of the world, it was no secret to anyone who served in Z.A.F.T. or any human military force that Bumblebee was the first Autobot to ever make contact with humanity, and the one who was rumored to have dealt the killing blow to Megatron, leader of the Decepticons himself. To hear that such an individual was now aboard their ship was breathtaking to say the least.

"Well now, this is getting more and more interesting by the minute," Durandal softly stated once more. "It seems that Representative Athha is just full of surprises."

* * *

A few hours later, the mechanics of the _Minerva_ were hard at work making repairs to the mobile suits onboard so that they would be ready to deploy once they caught up with the enemy. As they were working, two of the engineers, Vino and Yolan, were discussing the recent events and all that had happened, something that Shinn only noticed in passing as he headed over to Lunamaria, who was hanging around her Zaku to make sure that it was ready to go when the time came. "Hey Luna," Shinn called out happily.

Lunamaria turned around and instantly brightened up at the sight of Shinn. The two had been close friends ever since they met at the Z.A.F.T. academy and Lunamaria would not deny that Shinn had a certain hero complex to him that she found to be a bit charming. People would often tease the two about being a couple, but that was something that Lunamaria would insist would never happen, though the blush she would sometimes get on her face would say otherwise. "Shinn you would not believe the day I've had. The moment we were about to get underway, Representative Athha came aboard the ship with her attendant and a couple of Autobots."

"Wait, Athha? As in Athha from Orb," Shinn asked in a half shocked, half excited tone.

"Yeah. I was totally surprised too. What are the odds of meeting a big war hero all the way out here," Lunamaria asked in tone that sounded reminiscent of an excited fan girl. She then noticed that Shinn was looking over at the nearby damaged Zaku and the yellow and black striped sports car curiously. "What's up? Something wrong with that Zaku and the car?"

"No it's just that it hadn't been assigned to the _Minerva_, and I'm pretty sure that I'd remember there being a sports car being assigned to the ship," Shinn replied.

"Well in the case of the Zaku, it was Representative Athha's bodyguard who was piloting it," Lunamaria told him excitedly, and Shinn could see that stars were forming in her eyes. "He said his name was Alex, but it might be Athrun. That's what the representative called him by mistake in the heat of the moment."

"Athrun Zala," Shinn quietly exclaimed as he glanced down in astonished thought. He then looked back to his friend and asked again, "And what about the sports car over there?"

Before Lunamaria could answer, the voice of the chairman reached their ears, and they turned to see said man himself come into the hangar with Rey, Representative Athha, and the man that Lunamaria believed to be Athrun Zala close behind. It was clear that Durandal was giving the two guests aboard the ship a tour of the _Minerva_ as he seemed to slightly boast about the mobile suits that were in the hangar. They did not pay much attention to it at first until a point in the conversation seemed to get everyone's attention. "I take it you don't much care for it, do you Princess," Durandal observed.

"Well you seem happy with it Mister Chairman," Cagalli immediately replied, a slight tone of disapproval being carried in her voice.

"Happy isn't the word I would use," Durandal replied. "My feelings stem from the thought of how hard everybody's had to work to come so far from such chaos to gain such strength."

Cagalli really seemed to get riled up at that comment, but she was quick to do her best to contain it as she gave her thoughts a voice. "You said strength was necessary because there would always be conflict Mister Chairman."

"Yes," Durandal replied, remembering that quite well.

"Then how can you rationalize what has happened here," Cagalli demanded. "As a result of your new mobile suits, your nation has suffered an appalling amount of damage."

"And therefore, you believe we shouldn't seek to acquire strength," Durandal asked.

"Why would you need it in the first place, especially at this time? We made a vow not to repeat the tragedies of the past, and we were committed to following a path we could walk on together," Cagalli instantly reminded him.

Before Durandal could reply, Shinn suddenly called out, "I didn't realize that making pathetic excuses was acceptable for the heir to the Lion of Orb."

That got everyone's attention, and Rey was about to try and move to discipline Shinn for his words when someone else beat him to it. Someone who surprised everyone as he changed from the yellow sports car that was parked nearby a moment ago and stormed over to the crimson eyed boy to hoist him up by his belt. "You want to try and repeat that kid, then go right ahead and see what happens," Bumblebee snarled.

"Whoa easy, I didn't mean any disrespect. Just let me explain for a moment," Shinn quickly pleaded. Bumblebee seemed to consider this for a moment, ignoring all the stares and looks of awe that everyone who had not seen him before were sending his way, until he finally put Shinn down next to Cagalli and Athrun and crossed his arms, sending a silent message to make it good.

Shinn quickly recomposed himself as he straightened up and said, "I'm sorry if my words sounded harsh, but it's just that I'm a great admirer of Lord Uzumi since he was the first government official to truly trust the Autobots completely. When I heard that his daughter was now the ruler of my homeland, I figured you'd be a bit more like him and when I heard your conversation I couldn't stop myself from saying something. I just want to offer whatever support I can even if it seems a bit harsh."

Cagalli looked down to see that Shinn was extending his hand as a sign of good will and smiled a bit as she accepted it and replied, "Thank you, and I'm glad that my father has such a strong supporter of his beliefs…"

"Shinn Asuka, Lady Cagalli," Shinn introduced with a smile.

Cagalli nodded at this and stated, "I'm sure that, so long as you've still continued to uphold our nations ideals in your actions, you're doing your homeland proud Shinn, but I am sorry if I'm not what you expected from me."

"Thank you for that, and it's alright, I should really apologize for speaking out of line like I did."

"Don't. I welcome any opinion from any citizen of Orb, even a former one," Cagalli reassured Shinn. Shinn just nodded in thanks for this and then turned to look at Bumblebee, who was just now noticing that everyone in the room aside from Cagalli, Athrun, and Blur was staring at him in awe.

"What? Is there something on my face," Bumblebee asked.

"No not at all. It's just that it's not every day that you meet someone of your reputation Mister Bumblebee," Durandal stated happily.

"Uh…thank you Chairman Durandal, but do me a favor and don't call me Mister. My name is Bumblebee, simple as that," Bumblebee replied.

"Are you…one of the Autobots that defended Orb in the last war," Shinn asked in barely contained excitement.

"Yeah I am," Bumblebee replied.

Shinn then immediately gave a quick salute as he said, "Thank you. If it wasn't for you guys, my family and I would probably have died at Onogoro."

"Yes, yes. Everybody's happy and excited to see someone so famous, but there's one teeny tiny problem that we still need to deal with since Sentinel has repeatedly requested your presence aboard the _Xanthium_ Bumblebee," Blur cut in.

"For the last time Blur, I can't go to the _Xanthium_, no matter how much I want to right now, because I'm needed here to carry out the mission I was already on," Bumblebee groaned in reply.

"That's what told him, but Sentinel has kept on asking me over and over again until finally the last time I told him that you were refusing he said that he was going to be coming over here to speak to you and also to see if he can…"

"Whoa Blur wait a minute. Did you say that Sentinel was coming here," Bumblebee asked. No sooner than when the question had left his lips did Bumblebee receive his answer when a Ground Bridge portal opened nearby, and a large red and black fire truck rolled onto the deck of the _Minerva_'s hangar. The truck then pulled to a stop and immediately transformed into the captain of the _Xanthium_himself, Sentinel.

Bumblebee and Blur were instantly standing at attention as Blur greeted, "Sir welcome aboard the _Minerva_. I was just telling everyone of your impending arrival and that you would want to speak to the chairman about the recent events. The Autobot scout is right here and not moving to leave the ship as I kept saying he was no matter how many times I asked him he would only say no, no, no and…"

Blur was cut off from further ranting when Bumblebee finally had enough of the speed talking Autobot and landed a hard hit to Blur's face. Realizing what he did, Bumblebee quickly threw an apologetic look to Sentinel when the red and silver Autobot let out a hearty laugh saying, "Well I knew that it was about time that someone did that to Blur, but I'm just surprised that it wasn't one of my crew."

Now Bumblebee was unsure if he should apologize or say thank you, so he just elected to slowly nod in response. Finally getting fed up with the mystery, Cagalli quickly asked, "Bumblebee who is this?"

Bumblebee was quick to shake himself back to his senses as he threw a quick smile to Athrun and Cagalli saying, "Sorry, I probably should introduce you all now. Sentinel, this is Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Athha of the Orb Union and her personal attendant Alex Dino. Cagalli, Alex, allow me to present the captain of the long lost Autobot ship, _Xanthium_, Sentinel Prime."

Cagalli and Athrun's eyes both widened in shock at hearing that standing before them was another Prime, neither one able to say anything. This fact was noted by Sentinel as he quickly asked, "Is there something wrong with them?"

"Uh no sir. It's just that we had told them of our beliefs that you, your ship, and its crew were all lost to the stars and the shock of seeing you still alive is close to the same as my own when I found out earlier," Bumblebee quickly stated, not wanting to reveal all the reasons why Athrun and Cagalli were so surprised.

"I see, but enough on that soldier," Sentinel said, getting down to business right away. "Where's your unit's ship right now?"

Bumblebee raised an optic in confusion before replying, "I actually traveled to the PLANTs alone via a Ground Bridge sir, and the ship I was first assigned to was destroyed in battle against the new Decepticon warship, the _Nemesis_. The one I served aboard most recently has actually been out of service for some time now."

"Well then where is the rest of the rescue fleet? I'm sure Zeta must be greatly worried about us," Sentinel then asked.

Bumblebee then realized that Sentinel did not seem to have any idea how much time had passed since he left Cybertron and quickly adopted a somber look as he stated, "Sir there is no rescue party. You're ship had fallen into a strange wormhole that seemed to appear from out of nowhere and there was never any trace of you left to find. You've all been listed as believed to be KIA for years now. A lot has happened in the war since you left, most of which you would be better off hearing from my commander, but I feel I must inform you that in your absence, Zeta Prime had perished defending the Omega Lock from Megatron."

"What…Zeta…gone," Sentinel asked in shock as he hung his head sadly at this news. He then got himself together as he snarled, "When I get my hands on that Gladiator, I will make him pay for what he has done."

"I'm afraid that you're a little late for that sir," Bumblebee then stated. At Sentinel's look of confusion, Bumblebee elaborated, "Recently, Megatron has also perished in battle as well."

Sentinel breathed a sigh of relief as he then asked, "Who was it that extinguished his spark?"

Bumblebee adopted a bit of a sheepish look of embarrassment at that question, but before he could say anything, Cagalli called out, "It was actually Bumblebee himself who dealt the final blow after Optimus had worn down Megatron."

Sentinel looked from Cagalli to the scout in front of him before he quietly asked, "Did you say Optimus?" At the nod he received in response, Sentinel let out a hearty laugh as he declared, "I never would've figured that young archivist would've had it in him to fight a former friend to the death like that, and Bumblebee, you are to be commended for your accomplishment. It seems you've brought our war against the Decepticons to an end."

"Not necessarily sir," Bumblebee quickly amended. "While Megatron had fallen in battle, Starscream was quick to lead the remaining Decepticon forces in a full scale retreat from this galaxy, and Optimus is sure that so long as Starscream is still around that the war will never truly be over."

Sentinel nodded in consent when Shinn cut in saying, "I think that we all just saw enough evidence to support that, because in case you hadn't noticed, those guys that just attacked Armory One were working with Decepticons."

"Those were not Decepticons boy," Sentinel snarled angrily, though whether it was at Shinn or something else, only Bumblebee knew. "They were Eradicons."

"What? What are Eradicons," Cagalli asked. A question that Durandal stated he wanted answered as well, as did everyone else in the room.

Sentinel turned to Bumblebee and asked, "I take it you are familiar with their story Bumblebee?"

"Only the origin of them sir. Everything else I've heard about them was merely rumor and legend," the scout replied.

Sentinel then gave the scout a small wave of his hand as he requested, "Then why don't you tell them what you know of them while I fill in any blanks that are left?"

Bumblebee nodded in acceptance of this as he turned to the two government leaders, only noting for a minute that everyone in the hangar seemed to be listening intently as well. "A few years ago back on Cybertron, during the middle stages of the war, the Decepticons had two different methods of interrogating extremely stubborn prisoners. One was through a cortical psychic patch, a process that allows one to directly connect their own head to the other's and then enter the person's mind. It's a dangerous process because it works both ways and has a risk of leaving one of the individuals involved a vegetable. Invented by Decepticons. Outlawed by Autobots. Even though the 'Cons were the ones who came up with it, they still preferred to interrogate their prisoners the old fashioned way, and that's where the second method comes in."

Bumblebee paused for a moment as a grim expression reached his face. "That second method, was that they take the prisoners to Lockdown, the Decepticons' chief of interrogations at the time. Lockdown's brutality and mercilessness has long been believed to be rivaled only by Megatron, and he would always take great pleasure in tearing his victims apart and then taking some of their special equipment and modifications as trophies. Very few Autobots ever survived a session with him, and those that did were never the same again. Most of them were relieved of duty due to having suffered great psychological trauma, while others…went so far as to kill themselves."

Everyone who heard that gasped in shock. The thought of these massive beings becoming that traumatized was not a pleasant thought at all. If this Lockdown could do that to the Autobots, there was no telling what he could do. That was when Durandal realized something. "You said that Lockdown was the head of interrogations for the 'Cons at the time. I can only assume that means he's not anymore. What happened to him?"

Bumblebee brought himself out of his terrible memories of what had happened to some friends that had escaped from Lockdown and continued his tale. "At some point, Lockdown began to believe that Megatron's methods for accomplishing the Decepticons' goals were too brutish and barbaric, and that the best way to rule Cybertron was by controlling it from the shadows. In essence, he wanted to take control of government leaders and authorities just enough that everyone knew that he was behind it but could still do nothing to stop him."

"Sounds a lot like some of the old Earth crime bosses from history," Athrun observed.

"Exactly," Bumblebee replied. "Lockdown was quick to confront Megatron on this, and he paid the price for his actions when Megatron crushed his arm to remind Lockdown of his place. Ever since, Lockdown's arm had been prosthetic that ended in a single claw, but he since found a way to gain a new hand that he could use for a limited amount of time. The downside was that if he used that artificial hand for too long he would start to suffer a great deal of pain unless he switched it back to his claw hand."

"After that day, Lockdown had started to gather followers that either believed in the same ideas as he did, or were just stupid enough for Lockdown to persuade to leave Megatron. Eventually, after he had gathered enough followers he left the Decepticons, making sure that Megatron knew of this, and started to fight the war in his own way. For a short while after, many other Decepticons fled to join Lockdown's forces, either for the reason of escaping execution for failing Megatron one too many times or simply because they thought Lockdown was right. For the longest time, they destroyed anyone who stood in their way, Autobot and Decepticon, and because of how they would completely eradicate those enemies, they quickly became known as the Eradicons. It seemed that Lockdown would succeed in his goals until one day, Lockdown took all his forces aboard his ship, _Tidal Wave_, and left Cybertron. Though his reasons for doing so were never discovered," Bumblebee finished.

"Until the day that the _Xanthium_ launched," Sentinel then said, getting everyone's attention. "After he left Cybertron, Lockdown led his forces across the universe, either taking control of or destroying any world they came across, all in an effort to further Lockdown's plans. He has come to believe that doing so would cement his rule when he eventually returned to Cybertron with an empire. From time to time, the Eradicons would go so far as to act as pirates, stealing valuables to further their cause, or act as simple hired muscle for the same reasons as well, and at the same time to show that they were not a force to be reckoned with."

"When the _Xanthium_ was able to escape Cybertron, we lost all communications and then saw the _Tidal Wave_ sitting there like it was waiting for us. Lockdown had heard of the cargo that we were transporting and was certain that it was valuable enough to make him a very rich mech. Enough to ensure that his empire would last for eons. In his attack, he triggered one such piece of cargo which opened the wormhole that you spoke of Bumblebee, and caused our seriously damaged ship to fall into it, rendering the ship itself inoperable when we crash-landed in the nearby asteroid belt along with the device that opened the wormhole, and throwing all of us into stasis for years to come."

"If the Eradicons are former Decepticons, then would that mean that we should expect them to form an alliance of some kind," Cagalli then asked.

"Not a chance," Bumblebee answered. "Ever since the Eradicons first formed, they've been considered to be the most disgraced and detestable beings of all those who live in the darkness like Megatron and his forces did by all Decepticons. To put it simply, they all hate each other. There are few times when the Decepticons will welcome back an Eradicon who had 'come to their senses', but that's only when they give a very good reason to be allowed back in and not killed on the spot. It's all the more reason why the Eradicons have now become known as the one force that is more dangerous than the Decepticons"

Everyone was now frightened to their core. An entire force of beings that the Decepticons themselves considered to be detestable beings and that was also even worse than the Decepticons? Such a thing was nearly impossible to think about, and yet it was just revealed to have existed. The looks on the three Autobots' faces were proof enough of this fact.

This feeling of dread was quickly washed away when the alarms started blaring as Meyrin's voice announced, "Enemy vessels detected. Distance: eight thousand. Going to condition red. Pilots are to standby in their machines."

Immediately, everyone began racing to their stations as Shinn, Rey, Lunamaria, and the other Z.A.F.T. pilots that were aboard that had machines of their own raced to grab their pilot suits and prepare for launch. Sentinel then tapped his comm. link and confirmed that the _Xanthium_ had the same readings. Hearing this, Sentinel paused as he turned to Bumblebee and said, "Technically speaking, you are not under my command so I cannot order you to leave this ship while your charges are aboard it, but I would still like to ask that you assist us in the upcoming battle Bumblebee."

Bumblebee paused for a moment to think before replying, "If it were under other circumstances sir I would jump at the chance, but right now I feel that the best way to carry out my current duties is to remain here on the _Minerva_, at least for now."

"I understand, but I will welcome the help should you decide to join us on the battlefield," Sentinel then told Bumblebee. The Prime then tapped his comm. link once again and called out, "_Xanthium_, have the **Protectobots** and Smokescreen prepare to roll out at once. Blur will deploy from here on the _Minerva_. Send a Ground Bridge to bring me back."

After getting confirmation of his orders, the green vortex that was the Ground Bridge activated and Sentinel paused just before it to say, "Representative Athha, I would like to give you a tour of my own vessel and allow you the chance to properly meet the rest of my forces once this battle is over if you would be interested."

Cagalli smiled and nodded in thanks, saying that she would, and with that Sentinel departed. The moment he had, Bumblebee quickly said, "Chairman, I would like to request permission to accompany you and Representative Athha to wherever it is you plan to take her for the duration of the battle."

"I would normally not hesitate to allow this, but I'm afraid that it will be quite difficult for you to head anywhere beyond the hangar," Durandal replied. In response to this, Bumblebee instantly transformed to vehicle mode, and then shinned his headlights brightly as a figure began to form in front of him. A moment later, that figure floated up to the chairman, Cagalli, and Athrun, revealing itself to be a young human adult with blue eyes and blonde hair, wearing an Orb forces uniform that was colored yellow and black in the places that were normally white and blue respectively.

The man looked around at the three before asking in Bumblebee's voice, "What? You think I should go with a Z.A.F.T. uniform instead?"

"No this will do quite nicely," the chairman answered enthusiastically. "I must say, I was extremely fascinated when I first heard about the Autobots' Holo-Forms, but to actually see one up close and personal is an entirely different matter." Durandal then reached out a hand and asked, "Would you mind if I…?"

Bumblebee smiled as he held out a hand and said, "Don't worry, I get asked that question every time I use this. By all means, go ahead."

Durandal then reached out and gave Bumblebee's open hand a small tap before grasping it in a firm handshake. "Fascinating," Durandal stated. "I had always believed that I would pass right through, but it seems that your Holo-Form is more of a hard light construct than a simple projection."

"Yeah everyone makes that mistake the first time," Bumblebee replied. With that out of the way, Durandal then led the three to the bridge. Upon their arrival, they immediately drew Talia Gladys's attention.

"May I ask a favor," Durandal then asked. "I would like to invite our honored guests from Orb to join us on the bridge of the _Minerva_." Talia was not sure how to respond, given the circumstances, until Durandal said, "I'm sure you're aware the representative is an experienced veteran of many battles and took command of warship during the previous war. I'd like to have her perspective as she observes our combat methods."

Talia glanced between the chairman and the three that stood behind him before she finally said, "But what of the one in the yellow Orb uniform? I'm not sure that…"

"Not to worry. I'm not actually an Orb soldier if that's what you're worried about. My name is Bumblebee, of the Autobots," Bumblebee replied. Everyone on the bridge who was not in the hangar previously gasped in amazement at the fact that Bumblebee was actually standing on their bridge, more or less, and it turned out that reassurance was all that Talia needed to finalize her decision.

"Very well. If that's how you feel Mister Chairman, and I would be more than happy to welcome the first Autobot humanity made contact with to the bridge as well," Talia replied.

"Thank you Talia," Durandal then said, and he led Cagalli, Athrun, and Bumblebee to their seats, as the bridge lowered to combat level in preparation for the upcoming battle. A moment later, both ships were preparing to send out their forces.

"Lunamaria, Zaku Warrior, stand by to launch. All systems online. Commencing launch sequence," Meyrin then called out as the red machine moved to the catapult. "Standby to launch Impulse. Blast module selected. Opening silhouette hangar three. Platform setup complete. Catapult online. Opening airtight shutters. Core Splendor, all systems online. Initiate launch sequence. Hatch opened, and linear launch system engaged. Good luck sis, Shinn."

"Zaku, Impulse, launch," Talia then ordered.

"Lunamaria Hawke, Zaku Warrior. I'm taking off," Lunamaria replied just before she blasted out of the ship.

"Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor launching," Shinn announced as his own machine blasted out into space and formed into the Impulse Gundam, this time with a pair of cannons on its back and turning black and green when it's equipment was attached and the Phase Shift armor was activated.

The moment after the rest of the _Minerva_'s forces to be sent out had launched, everyone was then patched through to the _Xanthium_ as the Autobots sent out their own forces. "This is **Evac** of the Protectobots, taking off," Evac called out. A moment later, the yellow helicopter that had helped Lunamaria in Armory One had launched from the _Xanthium_.

"Protectobot **Inferno**, racing into action." Soon following that declaration, a red fire truck launched from the _Xanthium_ before it transformed into a similarly colored Autobot with orange colored optics and a blue face, and a large rifle on his right arm that seemed to be the fire hose from his vehicle mode.

"Protectobot **Roadblock**, on my way." With that call, an Autobot whose vehicle mode seemed to be that of a truck crane designed in a similar way to Inferno came out and then transformed into a robot mode that was also similar to Inferno's. A minute after he transformed, Roadblock moved his rifle to his other arm as he and Inferno both grabbed onto Evac as he flew towards the battlefield.

"Protectobot **Prowl**, racing to the scene." A minute after, a white and blue police car blasted out of the _Xanthium_ and transformed into a similarly colored Autobot whose face seemed to have its battle mask on at all times. He then fired a pair of rockets that were attached to his back and took off after his allies.

"Protectobot **Red Alert**, heading out." That final call was when the fifth and final Protectobot emerged, revealing his vehicle mode to be that of an ambulance, which then transformed into an Autobot with blue legs, arms, and head with a single red visor for eyes and a blaster in the place of his left hand.

"Smokescreen, rolling out." That call was the signal of the same young Autobot that Bumblebee had met in Armory One as he raced out into the field as well, with Blur following close by a minute later.

"Bogey One," Durandal mused as all this happened. "We call it that, but I wonder what its real name is, it's true name. A name reflects its owner's nature, but…what if the name is merely a fake?" At that point, Durandal had turned to face Athrun as he continued. "If something goes by a false name would it mean that thing is fake, false by nature? Is that what it would mean Alex…or is it Athrun Zala?"

Athrun's eyes widened in shock, as he wondered how Durandal had figured out who he was, while Cagalli prepared to protest the claim only for Bumblebee to cut in saying, "I think you must be mistaken Chairman. My friend Alex simply…what's the human saying…has one of those faces."

"Now, now there's nothing to be concerned about Representative Athha, Bumblebee," Durandal then smiled as he addressed all three. "I'm not accusing him of anything. I understand what happened, and I'm aware of the measures Chairwoman Canaver took against you and others. It's just if we're going to talk I just wanted to be certain I was talking to the real you Athrun. That's all I meant."

That was when one of the bridge crew announced that the enemies had not appeared to have changed course yet, which led to a stunning revelation for Talia, which two others announced aloud. "A decoy," Athrun and Bumblebee both shouted, getting everyone to stare at Athrun. Athrun lowered his head a bit, knowing that he had exposed himself in shouting that out.

* * *

During that time, Shinn, Lunamaria, and the Autobots that had launched with them were heading towards the _Tidal Wave_ and _Girty Lue_'s position as slowly and carefully as they could. "I didn't score very well in debris field simulations," Lunamaria commented aloud.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine Luna. Besides I'm sure the enemy has noticed that we're in here by now, so stay on your toes," Shinn replied.

"I know that. You know you're starting to sound like Ray. It's really annoying and it's throwing me off," Lunamaria retorted.

"Hey can you two flirt later? We've got more important things to worry about right now," Roadblock commented from his position.

"We're not flirting," the two retorted angrily.

"Hey leave 'em alone bro," Inferno reprimanded. Any further conversation was cut off when a barrage of beam blasts suddenly came at them from out of nowhere. The barrage caused everyone to scatter, but not in time to save one of the Z.A.F.T. pilots from being shot down and killed.

"Everyone scatter and take them on one-on-one if you have to," Evac called out as Inferno and Roadblock dropped down onto nearby debris.

"Evac, the signals from the suspects has just vanished," Prowl shouted as he armed his twin-barrel blaster hand. Evac checked his readouts to confirm this and saw that the police 'Bot was right. Before any of them could do anything more though, the Abyss suddenly fired all its beam weapons and took down the only remaining Z.A.F.T. machine that had gone out with Shinn and Lunamaria.

Smokescreen and Blur quickly spun around and opened fire on the blue mobile suit so that the Impulse and Zaku Warrior could get away to recover a bit. As they did though, they too came under fire, and they looked to see a squadron of road vehicles racing along the debris and firing blasters at them. "Ah scrap its **Motormaster** and the **Stunticons**," Smokescreen moaned.

"We'll handle them kid. You just keep the other two safe," Evac stated as he flew in to lay down a barrage on said enemy team. Motormaster, a large black truck immediately spun to around to guard his team from the incoming assault, while **Dirt Boss**, a large monster truck, and **Drag Strip**, a gold race car, raced in to open fire. Their assault was immediately halted by the efforts of Inferno and Roadblock, and the remaining Stunticons, a pair of high speed sports cars named **Dead End** and **Wildrider**, were quick to move in when they found themselves fired upon by Red Alert and Prowl.

"I remember when I used to bust these guys for illegal street racing," Prowl said in a reminiscent tone.

"Well now you're gonna be the one who gets busted beat cop," Wildrider retorted as he transformed and fired on Prowl.

Evac then swooped in to back up his team by facing Motormaster head on, and as soon as he was close enough, he transformed into a large gold and silver Autobot with his helicopter tail extending outward like a set of wings on his back while his main rotor was now mounted on his left arm as an arm blade and shield. "You and me Motormaster," Evac called out as he charged in.

"You've got nothing on me fly boy," Motormaster retorted as he quickly engaged the Protectobot leader.

During this time, Lunamaria, Shinn, Smokescreen, and Blur were doing their best to fend off the attacks of the three stolen Gundams, when Smokescreen was suddenly hit by a laser barrage, which Blur only avoided thanks to his speed. The two looked to see a purple and yellow motorcycle and a large, green vehicle with three wheels were racing towards them. "Oh like we don't have enough problems," Smokescreen moaned. "Now we've gotta deal with **Sideways** and that muscle brained idiot **Crumplezone**."

"Instead of complaining all day, which is not helpful at all in anyway what-so-ever, you might want to try actually doing something like using your phase shifter or just shooting at them so that we may actually make it out of this battle alive, kid," Blur rapidly retorted.

Smokescreen just huffed in response as he went with the latter option and started shooting at the motorcycle, which was quick to transform into a large 'Con with the same colors and a yellow head with a blue visor for eyes that immediately returned fire with his arm blasters, which were previously his bike mode's exhaust pipes.

Just then, they all heard a series of explosions and saw that their ships were under attack by the enemy vessels. "They set a trap for us and we walked right into it," Lunamaria moaned as she fired her Zaku's long-range beam cannon at the Gaia, which dashed out of the way and slammed into her, sending her crashing through some debris until Blur used his fast speeds to swoop in and save her from further damage.

"Yeah sure looks that way," Shinn replied as he used the Impulse's twin cannons to fire some blasts at the Chaos and Abyss. "But we're pinned down and can't get back to help them, so what're we supposed to do?"

"We finish this," Evac proclaimed as he slammed a fist into Motormaster. The helicopter 'Bot then turned to his teammates and shouted out, "Protectobots, combine into **Defensor**!"

"Sir," the other four Protectobots replied. A moment later, the five had united together with Red Alert and Roadblock forming the legs, Inferno and Prowl the arms and hands, and Evac as the torso and head, and became a large Autobot that was similar in size to Superion except with a pair of cannons on his Prowl arm and Evac's helicopter rotor on his back.

"Two can play that game," Motormaster snarled. "Stunticons, merge into **Menasor**!"

With that command, the Stunticons also combined together into a large robot that was the same size as Defensor, with Motormaster as the torso and head, and the other four forming the arms and legs. Looking at this sight, as the two combiner teams' united forms charged each other, anyone could tell that there was no way that they could reach the _Xanthium_ or the _Minerva_ in time.

* * *

The two ships were barely holding their own now, and suddenly they found themselves showered by falling rocks from the meteor that they were clinging to, right until the _Minerva_ and the_Xanthium_were pinned down. The moment the ship stopped moving, Talia ordered Ray to head out in his Zaku Phantom, and the blonde was quick to do so, if for no other reason than to get the ships free, while Sentinel told Drift to head out for the same reason.

Before they could though, Rey and Drift noticed the same mobile armor from before and Thrust heading their way, and they quickly moved to engage them. The battle between Rey and the mobile armor was reminiscent of one that took place between Mu La Flaga and Rau Le Creuset, for all those who knew the two, almost to the point that it seemed like the two had resumed their battle in a new life, while Drift's battle was just a matter of his quick maneuvering and evasion combined with his skills with a blade and throwing knives being pitted against Thrust's tactical mind.

"Doesn't this ship carry anymore mobile suits," Durandal then asked as everyone watched the battles unfold.

"We've run out of pilots," Talia replied.

_"__And if we sent out anymore of our forces, I'm afraid we may not have enough left to manage the ship,"_ Sentinel added in, knowing that would be the next question.

"How many starboard thrusters are still functioning," Athrun then asked, feeling he could no longer keep silent.

Talia hesitated to answer before Durandal gave a nod saying it was alright. "Six working, but if we go out into open space we'll be sitting ducks. They'll use both ships for target practice."

_"__The _Xanthium_ has about eight working thrusters, but Captain Gladys is correct in what she says,"_ Sentinel added.

"Fire all your starboard guns along with the thrusters, right against the asteroid. The explosion will push away the ship in one motion along with the surrounding rock," Athrun explained.

"But that's insane! Imagine the damage to the ships' hulls if we did that," Trine argued.

"It's more important that we get out of here. We're nothing but a pair of targets and it'll only get worse the longer we stay," Athrun pointed out.

Everyone went silent at Athrun's words, silently admitting that he had a point in what he was saying, until finally Sentinel stated, _"Then we'd best give your idea a try."_

"…Very well then," Talia agreed.

"But Captain," Arthur tried to protest.

"We'll have to discuss it later," Talia interrupted. "Prepare to fire all weapons on the starboard side. Starboard thrusters to maximum as we fire. Match the timing."

Sentinel was also giving out similar orders as Bumblebee stood up and then said, "Tell your deck crew to standby. I'm heading out as well."

"Bumblebee," Cagalli protested.

"I'm not going to sit back and watch anymore! I'm certain that now's the time for me to head out," the scout argued. After getting a nod from Talia and Meyrin, who was quick to alert the deck crew, Bumblebee's Holo-Form deactivated and the Autobot instantly drove himself over to the catapult."

With a call to brace for impact, Talia ordered the thrusters to engage, which was immediately followed by the order to fire the weapons on the same side, an action that the _Xanthium_ quickly mirrored. With one powerful blast, the two ships were pushed free and able to spin around to target the enemy ships with their main cannons. At the same time, Bumblebee was racing down the_Minerva_'s launch deck, and blasting out into space. The instant after Bumblebee had launched, the _Minerva_ had fired its positron cannon, seriously damaging the _Girty Lue_ while the_Xanthium_fired its main cannons on the _Tidal Wave_, rendering Lockdown's ship also inoperable for a moment.

"Captain Roanoke," Lockdown called out. "Have your forces retreat at once. We'll cover you as we finish the job."

"Understood," Roanoke replied, begrudgingly. The masked soldier looked back towards Ray's machine as he stated, "I look forward to our next encounter, so farewell for now white baldy and your little friends."

A moment later, Phantom Pain's mother-ship had sent out the retreat signal, and the three stolen Gundams immediately raced back to their ship with their commander's mobile armor leading the way. Now all that was left to deal with were the Eradicons.

* * *

While the _Girty Lue_ was in retreat, Drift was suddenly finding himself backed up against a wall, or a large slab of debris in this case, as Thrust closed in, along with the rest of his fellow Autobots. Thrust could only smirk with glee as he called out, "Menasor, deliver the final blow!"

"Menasor smash," the large combiner shouted. Before he could though, Sideways spotted something headed their way.

"Thrust, incoming from up there," the motorcycle Eradicon shouted. Thrust spun around and just barely moved away in time to avoid a charging Bumblebee who had his fists forward. Sideways and Menasor on the other hand were not as lucky, as the former was hit by Bumblebee's fists and the latter by a series of blasts to his eyes that Bumblebee shot off from his default blasters after he rolled off of Sideways when they hit the debris.

"Well I'm honored by your presence cadet, but you can't make any difference," Thrust snarled as he opened fire.

"Like I told your pals earlier squid head, its scout now," Bumblebee retorted as he evaded Thrust's shots easily and returned fire.

"Yeah! Go Bumblebee," Smokescreen shouted excitedly. The scout then transformed and raced towards Crumplezone who quickly opened fire on the yellow and black 'Bot with his shoulder cannons.

"You keep away from me," Crumplezone shouted. Bumblebee did not listen as he transformed to robot mode and landed a hard kick right into Crumplezone's chest. Menasor then shook off his daze from earlier and was about to attack Bumblebee again, when Defensor slammed a fist into him from behind. Not wasting time for a second, Defensor then aimed Prowl's twin blaster at the Stunticons and fired with everything he had.

Lockdown could only snarl in disgust as he watched all this from the bridge. His forces had the _Xanthium_ Autobots on the ropes and then suddenly they were being overwhelmed by a single Autobot scout! It was humiliating! Seeing he had no other choice, Lockdown simply shouted out, "Tell Thrust and the others to get back here now! We're retreating."

"Yes sir Lockdown," one of the bridge crew replied.

Lockdown then looked out at Bumblebee as his forces returned to his ship. "The minute I found out who that Autobot is, I'm going to make him suffer slowly and painfully. I'll torture his loved ones, and then make him watch as I tear them apart and finally force him to choose which one would live and which one would die, and I won't stop doing so until he is on his knees begging me to end his misery and extinguish his spark."

* * *

Sometime after the battle had ended, Chairman Durandal and Captain Gladys had escorted Cagalli and Athrun to quarters that they could wait in until a transport arrived to take them back to Orb. When they asked what Bumblebee would do to get back, Cagalli had replied saying that he would likely signal his fellow Autobots on Earth saying that he was ready to return the moment that they left themselves. After that point, Athrun had left Cagalli alone so she could get some rest, finding that he had a lot on his mind to think about.

The chairman had stated that if it were not for Athrun then the ships and everyone aboard would not have survived, and Athrun could not help but start recalling all that was said on the bridge during the battle, but at the same time he found himself recalling the more horrible memories of his past. All the memories of his comrades and friends who he had lost in the last war, namely Jaylen and his first Cybertronian friend Dreadwing. Athrun still found himself having nightmares about it from time to time, and when he and the other members of the former Le Creuset team were tried for their actions in the previous war, despite the fact that they were pardoned, he had hoped that moving to Orb to start a new life with Cagalli would be able to help him deal with it. However, he found today that he had not been able to do that at all.

As he continued to think on all this in growing frustration, he could hear Meyrin and Lunamaria talking about him from the hallway, and not a minute later, the two sisters entered the room he was sitting in with Shinn and Rey alongside them. Upon seeing him, Meyrin let out a small 'eep' and quickly ducked behind Rey in shyness, while the other three could only stare in both shock and awe. After a minute, Shinn could only give a small smile of respect while Lunamaria decided to break the awkward silence with a smile and said, "Well, we were just talking about you Athrun Zala, and now presto, here you are. Isn't that funny how that always happens?"

Seeing Athrun was not laughing or saying anything in agreement with her, Lunamaria just walked up and stated, "It's really an honor to meet a legendary ace like you here."

Athrun just lowered his head as he responded, "You're thinking of someone else. My name is Alex Dino."

Obviously, none of the four believed him for a minute. "And so that's why you don't pilot mobile suits anymore," Lunamaria asked with a knowing smile.

"Hey come on Luna. Leave the guy alone," Shinn warned her. "If he doesn't want to deal with the pressure that kind of thing comes with or the difficulties of his past then that's his call."

Athrun looked to Shinn and saw Shinn giving him a discreet wink to say that he had his back, to which Athrun gave a grateful nod in reply. Lunamaria could only nod in reply, seeing that Shinn was right to say that and simply said, "Anyways, we heard you stepped in and saved the ship when it was in danger, so we just wanted to say thank you for doing that."

As she said that, she and the others gave Athrun a quick salute in gratitude, to which Athrun was not sure how to respond to. He was soon saved the trouble of doing so when a voice spoke up saying, "So first you point a gun at him, and then when you find out he helped save your ship you decide to be all smiles and salute him? Not only that, but you thank him for saving your ship, but when it comes to the 'Bot who might as well have saved your life you just aim a gun at him? Sheesh. Femme." Everyone turned to see Bumblebee in his Holo-Form again standing behind Shinn and the others.

"Wow, first Athrun Zala and now the legendary first Autobot that humanity ever made contact with! This day is just full of surprises," Lunamaria exclaimed. She then raced over to Bumblebee and finished saying, "And we get to see you using your Holo-Form?! That is so cool! Hey do you mind if I…ya know…"

Bumblebee just held out his fist, as a way of saying go for it, and Lunamaria slightly tapped said fist before giving him a full-on fist bump, something that Shinn did a moment later as well. After Rey and Meyrin had followed up this action as well, Athrun coughed, getting everyone's attention as he asked, "Is there something you needed Bumblebee?"

"Yeah actually, I was just looking for you to let you know that Sentinel just contacted me saying that he would be more than happy to give you and Cagalli that tour of the _Xanthium_ now along with allowing you to meet all of the ship's senior officers more formally. I've already told Cagalli, and she's getting herself ready before heading to the hangar to await the Ground Bridge that they'll be sending us when I give the okay," Bumblebee replied.

Athrun nodded in thanks while the four Z.A.F.T. soldiers of the _Minerva_ looked on in both excitement and a slight amount of envy. It only took a moment until Shinn asked the question he, his fellow pilots, and Meyrin were wondering. "Can we come with you guys too?"

Bumblebee looked between the four for a moment before replying, "Well…I don't see why not. We'll have to check with Captain Gladys and Sentinel Prime first, but I'm sure that there shouldn't be a problem."

At that point, Lunamaria finally lost it and squealed excitedly as she wrapped Bumblebee in a tight hug saying thank you a million times so fast that Blur would have been jealous, a reaction that was only shared by the other three on the inside and which caused Bumblebee's Holo-Form to give a small blush at the violet-red haired girl's excitement. After Shinn made sure that Meyrin had videotaped her sister's little fan girl moment for blackmail use in the future, the Impulse pilot pulled the girl off of Bumblebee and led the others to Captain Gladys's quarters to ask her if they could visit the _Xanthium_, and join Bumblebee, Athrun, and Cagalli in meeting Sentinel Prime and the rest of the long lost Autobot ship's senior crewmembers.

* * *

**_AN: Okay, I know I mentioned the Protectobots in the last chapter, but this was the first chapter they were all officially introduced in, and I realize that their line up is not the same as that of the Protectobots that actually form Defensor, which I was going to include solely for the reason of Sentinel's team having a combiner for another reason later on down the line, but I these were all Autobots that I knew well and that I knew for a fact all transformed into rescue vehicles at one point or another. So basically, its much like how I did the line up of Aerialbots that form Superion, with the only difference being that I knew for a fact that Silverbolt was actually one of the Bots that formed Superion._**

**_Shinn: What about the Stunticons? Aren't the different as well?_**

**_AN: Ah yes. Thanks for pointing that out Shinn. Yes the Stunticon line-up is slightly different that what most people may know, but that is because one of the members of the Stunticon team was still with Starscream and the Decepticons, so I switched him out with the Cybertron version of Dirt Boss. Oh and just so you know, Sideways and Thrust are like how they are in Transformers Armada while Crumplezone is like his first version in Transformers Cybertron, just with the Transformers Prime style._**

**_Cagalli: Still what were you going for with Eradicons exactly? I only ask because I know others will._**

**_AN: It's simple really. I wanted them to be considered as a team that was more brutal than the Decepticons, with a leader being the same in comparison to Megatron. They are basically a team with a goal much similar to the Decepticons' goal, but they accomplish it through the means that are similar to that of major crime bosses. To put it more simply, in answer to "CBOperative4"'s question, the Eradicons are something of a little of both._**

**_Cagalli: Well in all honesty, Bumblebee was really something else there at the end._**

**_AN: Well I wanted to give Bumblebee a big moment like that in this chapter when I was planning it out and well...you can see the results._**

**_Shinn: Still, what was with my change in personality?_**

**_AN: Well to put it simply, your family's still alive and your still with Z.A.F.T., and for those of you who remember the events from the first story, you'll recall what the end results of Shinn and his family being saved by a certain Autobot were, so before you go saying that Shinn's too OOC, try to keep in mind that with that little historical change, he's got no reason to be a hateful, angry little jerk._**

**_Shinn: Hey!_**

**_AN: Dude, that's the truth in just about every way a majority of the time in SEED Destiny. You know it, I know it, we all know it, so don't deny it. Now I'm not saying Shinn will be completely different, but for the most part he will be a lot different personality wise from how he was in the mainstream. Now if there's nothing else, onto the preview!..._**

**_Bumblebee, Cagalli, Athrun, and the four _****Minerva****_ crew members travel to the _****Xanthium****_ via a Ground Bridge to meet Sentinel Prime's crew, and on their visit they discover the identities and a bit of history of Sentinel's Team Prime. Along with this, they also are greeted with the discovery of the _****Xanthium****_'s cargo that needed to be kept out of the wrong hands, and of Shinn's history and why decided to join Z.A.F.T. What changes will there be in Shinn's history and his decision to join Z.A.F.T., and just what is it about this cargo that has Bumblebee feeling like he is seeing long lost pieces of Ancient Cybertronian history? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 3: Histories Revealed****_. Team Sentinel Prime, show just what it is you are made of now!_**

**_Please read and review and I'll see you next time!_**

**_Shinn: So I've basically gotta make sure I don't accidentally give out spoilers from now on. That shouldn't be too hard, I mean it's not like he's going to use that thing every time I nearly give something away right?...Right?_**


	3. Histories Revealed

_**AN: And here we are, the chapter that explains everything you've been wondering. From why Shinn is still in Z.A.F.T., aside from the obivous reasons that he has to be in order for there to be a story period in Gundam SEED Destiny and that there was no way that I would replace with some OC character that was just like how he was in the original story, to just how many Autobots are on Team Sentinel and more!**_

_**Lunamaria: But before that, shouldn't you answer some reviews?**_

_**AN: I'm getting that. Uh...who've we not at least answered via PMs?**_

_**Luna: Well there is this guest review wondering why the Eradicons keep calling Bumblebee cadet.**_

_**AN: Well we'll be getting into that for a bit in this chapter actually. Anything else?**_

_**Luna: Uh lets see. Oh "KingdomWarrior125" is wondering if the Dinobots of "Transformers Age of Extinction" will be in this story.**_

_**AN: Ah yes, the Age of Extinction Dinobots. In all honesty, I found "Transformers Age of Extinction" to be the best out of all the Transformers movies, but I have already established in the last story that the Dinobots will be the more classic versions as they were in Fall of Cybertron, at least appearance wise. Sorry for those of you hoping to see more of the newer Dinobots in action like Strafe or Scorn in action, but this is just how it is.**_

_**Shinn: Why don't you just tell them that the Dinobots won't get any action until after the...**_

_**AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]**_

_**Shinn: Aw come on! [gets hit by a large hammer]**_

_**Luna: Shinn! Are you okay?**_

_**Cagalli: Don't worry he's fine. This section of the story is basically like a looney toon cartoon world.**_

**_AN: Ah see, you learn stuff everyday._**

**_Luna: Well at least now I know._**

**_AN: And knowing is half the battle! The Transformers!_**

**_Everyone but AN: ...[wind whistle]_**

**_AN: Sorry. Couldn't resist. Well now that that's out of the way, let's roll out! To the story that is._**

**_I do not own anything from either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Histories Revealed**

A few hours after Athrun's encounter with the three _Minerva_ pilots and Meyrin Hawke, the four Z.A.F.T. soldiers were all standing in the hangar with Athrun, having gotten permission to visit the _Xanthium_ from Captain Gladys, waiting to head for the _Xanthium_ with Bumblebee. There was one small problem with that though. "Hey Bumblebee are you there," Lunamaria asked as she waved a hand in front of Bumblebee's car mode.

"Is he still using his Holo-Form for some reason," Shinn asked.

"Yeah," Athrun replied. "He said that he wanted to escort Cagalli here himself."

Everyone nodded in acceptance of that, especially since they all saw how protective Bumblebee seemed to be of Cagalli. A minute later, the door from the elevator to the hangar opened and admitted both Bumblebee's Holo-Form and Cagalli into what Durandal had said was considered the core of the _Minerva_. "Sorry we took so long," Bumblebee apologized as the two floated over. "Cagalli was taking a nap and it's a bit of a challenge getting her to wake up."

"It is not," Cagalli immediately retorted.

"Anyways, if we're all here, let's get this show on the road," Bumblebee quickly cut in as his Holo-Form deactivated and he transformed to robot mode. "Bumblebee to _Xanthium_, we're all ready to go on this end. Has Sentinel been informed that we'll be having additional guests?"

_"__That's a big ten-four Bumblebee. Sentinel has been informed and given the a-okay for the other humans to come aboard the ship. To be honest I was expecting him to say no way, nu-uh, forget it, but he just simply smiled and said sure why not, there shouldn't be any harm, which led me to remind him of the human superstition that whenever you say things like that…,"_ was the response from Blur that seemed to never end.

"Blur! Just open the Ground Bridge," Bumblebee finally cut off.

_"__Roger that. It's already on the way. After all, nobody gets a job done faster than me. Nobody, nobody, nobody."_

Bumblebee just sighed as he stated, "Yeah nobody gets something done faster than you except in the case of shutting up."

Everyone going to the _Xanthium_ heard him say that and immediately let out a light chuckle in response as the Ground Bridge portal opened up nearby. As they all started towards it, Bumblebee turned to the Z.A.F.T. soldiers of their group and asked, "Have you guys been through a Ground Bridge before?"

"Uh…no," Shinn answered for all of them after a moment.

"Might want to brace yourselves then. It can be a bit rough on first timers, especially in the case of a few humans," Bumblebee then warned as he stepped through with Cagalli and Athrun. Shinn and the others then all took a deep breath, all of them being a bit nervous about their first trip through a Ground Bridge, and then took a few tentative steps forward until they were through the vortex.

When they came out the other side, everyone found themselves in a massive room that was probably bigger than the _Minerva_'s hangar with walls that were colored silver with red highlights that seemed to run through the walls like circuit lines on a circuit board. Bumblebee, Athrun, and Cagalli all then turned to see how the four Z.A.F.T. soldiers were doing, and saw that they were a bit disoriented. "Are you all doing okay," Bumblebee asked.

"A little dizzy, but I'm good," Lunamaria replied.

"Same here," Meyrin said.

"I just need a moment," Rey added in as he used a wall to steady himself. Everyone then looked to Shinn for a moment.

"Ugh…I don't feel so good," Shinn moaned as he held his stomach with one hand and kneeled down on the floor.

"Hey, hey watch it! We just cleaned this whole place," a voice suddenly called out. Everyone then turned to see Smokescreen speed walking over to where Shinn with a frantic look on his face.

"Relax kid. A lot of humans react like that their first time through a Ground Bridge," Bumblebee reassured both Shinn and Smokescreen. "You'll get used to it eventually." Shinn nodded in reply at that as he stood up again and everyone then turned to Smokescreen as Bumblebee asked, "What're you doing here though…uh…Smokescreen right?"

Smokescreen immediately stood at attention and replied, "Yes that's right sir. Sentinel Prime sent me to escort you and the rest of our guests to the conference room where the _Xanthium_ senior officers are waiting for us sir."

Cagalli and Athrun threw a pair of amused looks at Bumblebee as said scout sighed in exasperation and told Smokescreen, "Seriously Smokescreen, didn't we already have this conversation? Don't call me sir. Just Bumblebee is fine."

"Understood si…uh Bumblebee," Smokescreen replied. He then brought his attention to everyone in the room as he then stated, "If you'll all follow me."

Everyone then followed Smokescreen out of the room and down the large hallway that was just big enough to be considered normal sized for a Transformer towards the conference room. As they walked, Shinn noticed Cagalli glancing in his direction and asked, "What is it?"

"Oh nothing," Cagalli quickly replied. "I was just wondering why you joined Z.A.F.T. instead of returning to Orb to join our military, or even why you joined a military force at all."

Shinn smiled in understanding at that, having been asked that question before by others. "Well it's kind of a long story, but I guess it all started during the battle at Onogoro in the last war," Shinn replied. "My family was one of the groups that had not been able to evacuate before the battle had begun, and just when we were about to the boats to get us off the island, my little sister had dropped her cell phone. Knowing how important it was to her, I immediately went to get it, and just when I had it in my hands, I heard someone shout out to the four of us. The next thing I knew, we were all scooped up by a large, metal hand before we found ourselves inside a large vehicle. Once we were near the docks, we found ourselves being held in a pair of hands again, and we all looked up to see that we had been saved by a large, green robot that actually spoke saying that we were safe now."

"None of us could believe our eyes, and then he looked at me and said that what I did was really gutsy and that it was cool that I was looking out for my sister like that. A minute later, he told me to look out for my family while he went to help out his. It wasn't until later I found out that the robot was one of the Autobots, and that was when I decided that I wanted to be just like them someday by becoming a soldier that would protect everyone. Sometime after the war had ended, my family had ended up in the PLANTs, and I wanted to return to Orb so I could join the Orb Forces, but the nation was still rebuilding at the time so I couldn't apply for their military academy. I was a bit sad about that at first, but a few days later, I met Rey and he told me that I should consider applying for the Z.A.F.T. military academy."

"I worked my butt off like crazy so that I could try and be like the Autobot who had saved the lives of both me and my family, and I somehow not only graduated as a Z.A.F.T. red, but also ended up being assigned both to the _Minerva_ along with my newest friends, and to be the pilot of the Impulse."

Everyone was astounded at Shinn's story, including the Hawke sisters since neither one of them ever knew that Shinn's biggest inspiration for wanting to be a soldier was the Autobots. Bumblebee was a bit lost in thought for a moment until he finally asked, "Hey Shinn. About the Autobot who saved you and your family, did he give you a name?"

"Yeah, he said his name was Bulkhead," Shinn replied. "Do you know him?"

"Bulk? Yeah, he's one of my best friends, and one of the toughest 'Bots I know," Bumblebee replied.

"Wow really? So, do you think I could meet him again sometime," Shinn asked excitedly.

"Maybe, but we'll just have to wait and see," Bumblebee replied, not wanting to get Shinn's hopes up too high. Athrun and Cagalli could only smile at Shinn, seeing that he was just one example of the positive effect that the Autobots had on the people of Earth, and knowing that Bulkhead would be glad to hear that he inspired one of Z.A.F.T.'s newest soldiers to become a soldier that protects others.

Everyone was then stirred out of their thoughts when Smokescreen announced that they had reached their destination, and they walked into a large room in which they found Sentinel, the Protectobots, and a number of other Autobots waiting for them. Sentinel smiled as he saw that their guests had arrived and immediately walked over and said, "Ah my friends. Welcome aboard the _Xanthium_. Now don't be shy, just come right in, and if the humans would be so kind as to step right over here, we'll help you all get to a more suitable height where you won't be straining your necks too much as you speak to us."

They all did as they had asked and the six humans soon found themselves elevated upwards as a large table of some sort rose from the deck beneath their feet until they were just about high enough to get a better of view of the Autobots in the room just as Sentinel had said they would. Cagalli stepped forward, feeling she should speak first, and said, "Thank you for having us aboard your ship Sentinel Prime, and I would also like to thank you and your team for all that you've done to assist us since the incident at Armory One. That being said, I think it would be only right if we introduced ourselves first."

"Of course my dear," Sentinel replied. He then sent a subtle glance towards Athrun as he said, "And as far as identities go, I would much like everyone's true name. Don't worry though; I assure you that anything that you say about yourself will not leave this room if you do not want it to."

Athrun quickly caught onto Sentinel's meaning and nodded in thanks for that as Cagalli began the introductions of the six humans. "My name is Cagalli Yula Athha, chief representative of the Orb Union."

Shinn and the other members of Z.A.F.T. gave a small salute as they introduced themselves next. "I'm Shinn Asuka, Z.A.F.T. pilot of the Impulse Gundam."

"Lunamaria Hawke, pilot of a Gunner Zaku Warrior."

"Rey Za Burrel, pilot of the Blaze Zaku Phantom."

"Meryin Hawke, _Minerva_ CIC."

Everyone looked to Athrun, who hesitated for a moment before he finally gave his own introduction saying, "Athrun Zala, former member of Z.A.F.T., and Lady Cagalli's personal attendant."

"A pleasure to meet you all, for those I have not met as of yet," Sentinel replied. "I am Sentinel Prime, captain of the _Xanthium_, and one of the leaders of the Autobots. I shall allow my men to introduce themselves."

Evac stepped forward as he said, "My name is Evac, leader of the Protectobots. You might have seen us in action in the previous battle."

"Prowl of the Protectobots, ready, willing, and able to serve," Prowl then recited as he stepped forward.

Everyone gave Prowl a strange look as Red Alert chuckled and said, "Don't let him freak you out too much. Prowl was a peace keeping officer on Cybertron before the war began. My name is Red Alert, medical officer of the Protectobots, and one of the acting chief medical officers of the _Xanthium_."

"That must be confusing when there is a literal red alert," Shinn commented.

"Well we have a way of knowing the difference between the two," Inferno stated as he stepped up. "Anyways, my name's Inferno and this is my twin brother Roadblock. We're the final two members of the Protectobots, and we're also what some would call the trick-shot twins."

"Why's that," Lunamaria asked.

"It's because of our shooting skills," Roadblock answered. "We're the best sharpshooters in the Protectobots, and two of the best in all the Autobots."

"Yeah keep telling yourself that kid," a green and black Autobot said. He then spun around as he whipped out a pair of pistols as he said, "There's no one who's a better shot than me so don't any of you forget it."

"Hey, drop those things now," Bumblebee shouted.

The green Autobot looked over at Bumblebee before he chuckled and said, "Well whadya know, the little cadet that could. Relax kid, I'm just showing off my quick draw skills. Anyhow, my name's **Crosshairs**, paratrooper and best sharpshooter in all the Autobots and the Wreckers."

Bumblebee gave an irritated huff and Crosshairs's comment about him as Cagalli turned to him and stated, "You know, I remember overhearing some of the Eradicons calling you cadet too. What's the deal with that Bumblebee?"

Bumblebee really did not want to talk about it, but Crosshairs just laughed as he said, "The first time I met this kid, he was still just a cadet at Autobot academy. At that time, the Eradicons had just formed and had launched a plan to steal Autobot Intel from there by posing as instructors. They were able to get everyone in the place out except for this kid and three others, and that was what led to their plan's downfall. The kid was able to rally the other three and led them in a crazy plan to take on the Eradicons and drive them out of the place without anything at all, and surprisingly, it actually worked."

Cagalli and the others all looked at Bumblebee with great amazement in their eyes, clearly impressed that Bumblebee had managed to take on 'Cons and win even before he became an Autobot, but then they all saw he had a somber look on his face and realized there was more to that story than Crosshairs had said. It was obvious that it was something that Bumblebee did not want to remember so they just let it drop and went on with the introductions. A large, blue Autobot with a pair of shoulder cannons was the next to step up and introduce himself saying, "My name's **Scattershot**, the Wrecker who's fire power is only outmatched by Hound."

"And I am called Drift, triple changer of the Wreckers, and one of their best swordsman," Drift then stated as he stepped forward and gave a small bow in greeting.

"By any chance, do you know a 'Bot named Wheeljack," Athrun asked.

"Yes. He and I have had many sword sparring matches, and I must say that he is the only one who can match me in sword combat. In fact, after our last spar before my departure from Cybertron, Wheeljack actually held a lead in our win loss ratio," Drift replied.

"That's amazing," Cagalli exclaimed. She and Athrun had both seen Wheeljack's skills with a sword firsthand and the fact that there was someone who could match him that well was no small feat to say the least.

At that point, Shinn thought of something that Drift had said. "Hey what's a triple changer?"

"The simplest way to explain it is like this," Bumblebee said. "You know how most Transformers have two forms, a robot mode and a vehicle mode, right? Well triple changers are basically Transformers who have a third mode, usually a second vehicle mode. Most of them have one vehicle mode that is ground based while the other is aerial based."

"Exactly," Drift replied. "I myself transform into a helicopter and a sports car." In order to demonstrate this, Drift instantly transformed into his car mode before switching to his helicopter mode a minute later.

"That's amazing," Lunamaria exclaimed. "Can all Transformers do that?"

"No. It's something that takes a lot of power and skill to handle, so very few Transformers are able to handle it without either overloading their T-Cog or just rewriting the first vehicle data that they first scanned so that it can never be accessed again," Bumblebee replied.

"Moving on now per favore," an all red Autobot that sounded like he had a Spanish accent then cut in. "I am called **Mirage**, and I would advise you humans to be careful not to get in the way of me or my blades."

Everyone was a bit put off by Mirage's attitude, but was quickly distracted by an older sounding voice from a gray and green Autobot stepped up and said, "Don't mind that whipper-snapper. He just thinks that he's going to be held back by anyone that doesn't seem to keep up with him. My name's **Kup** by the way, and I must admit, what I've seen of your world actually reminds me a lot of this one planet I went to back when Cybertron was still traveling the galaxy."

"Every place reminds you of some place Kup," Springer cut in. "Kup's been around for ages so he's basically the second oldest living thing on this ship. That being said, I'm Springer, the only other triple changer aboard the _Xanthium_, and its weapons specialist."

"Hey good to see we all made it out okay, and that you're all doing okay after that last battle. As most of you may know, my name is Blur, _Xanthium_'s chief of operations, and let me tell you that it is not always an easy job because someone always wants something from me and they always insist that they need it now, now, now."

As Blur continued on, Bumblebee whispered to Sentinel, "Is it still okay for me to hit him so that he shuts up?"

Sentinel seemed to consider this for a moment before saying, "Give it another minute. Someone else will take care of it."

Bumblebee was going to ask what he meant by that when a female voice cut in saying, "Shut up Blur! With your babbling we'll be here all day and some of us still haven't introduced ourselves yet."

Bumblebee froze as he instantly recognized that voice. He then looked to the source and saw a bluish-grey femme glaring angrily at Blur in a way that was similar to Arcee when she was annoyed. This immediately confirmed Bumblebee's theory as he softly asked, "**Chromia**?"

The femme then turned to face Bumblebee as she raised an eyebrow in confusion until Bumblebee ran over and grabbed her in a hug saying, "Chromia! It's really you!"

At that point, Chromia's optics finally widened in recognition as she laughed saying, "Little Bee! Look at you, all grown up now! You were just an Autobot Academy graduate the last time I saw you!"

Everyone was a bit confused at first except for a certain blonde representative who's eyes were wide with shock. "Bumblebee, did you say that this 'Bot is Chromia? As in Arcee's older sister," Cagalli asked.

"That's right," Chromia confirmed. "Chormia, second in command of Team Prime, at your service. Though I have to ask, how do you know little Cee?"

"Arcee's kind of a big sister figure for me and my usual Autobot guardian," Cagalli replied excitedly, clearly indicating how exciting it was meeting the older sister of her best Autobot friend.

At that point, everyone noticed that Athrun seemed to be chuckling a bit at something. When everyone turned to look at him, Athrun just gave an amused look in Bumblebee's direction and asked, "Little Bee?"

Bumblebee instantly blushed from embarrassment as he stuttered, "I-I was a sparkling when she started calling me that! It's not my fault she won't stop calling me it."

"Whatever you say Little Bee," Cagalli teased.

Bumblebee groaned in annoyance as he asked, "Why did you have to say that in front of them?"

Chromia just shrugged with a teasing smile of her own as a red and gold colored 'Bot stepped forward as Sentinel said, "I believe it would be best if we move on to the last two members of my crew, starting with our communications specialist."

Bumblebee then noticed said 'Bot and instantly brightened up as he shouted, "**Blaster**!"

"Yo what's happening Bumblebee? What kind of stuff's been going on since I last saw ya buddy," Blaster instantly rapped in reply.

"Just a bit of the usual Blaster my man. Sending the 'Cons running and still taking a strong Autobot stand," Bumblebee rapped back in reply.

Blaster just laughed as he said, "Man that is seriously wicked fine. Good to see you've still got the rhymes after all this time."

"Well what can I say other than the facts. After all I learned from the best when it comes to that."

"Uh…," was the simultaneous response from all the humans present at the sound of the two's bad rapping.

"Oh great, now there's two of 'em," Kup moaned.

"So he's always like that," Rey asked, silently praying the answer was no.

"Yeah pretty much, except when he starts to get serious about something. Trust us, it's not as bad as his music," Springer replied.

Blaster then stopped rapping with Bumblebee to turn his attention to the humans and said, "Hey what's happening little humans. The name is Blaster and I've got no equal whether it be 'Bot, 'Con, or man."

"I can see how that can wear on you after a bit of time. It really starts to wear on you hearing all those rhymes," Athrun then stated, unintentionally rhyming himself.

Blaster threw a look at Athrun before laughing and saying, "Hey not bad little dude. Looks like you got the rhymes and ain't no fool." Blaster then held his fist out as he said, "Now come and exchange a greeting. All you gotta do is bump fists with me to officiate our meeting."

Athrun hesitated for a moment until he tapped his fist against Blaster's, figuring what the hey, and then tried his best with rapping as he said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Athrun Zala. Here's hoping you and me can be good pals, big fella."

Blaster smiled and gave a nod saying that he would have Athrun rapping like a master in no time, a thought that actually kind of scared the former mobile suit pilot and the other humans, until a red and blue Autobot with wings on his back coughed and said, "Moving on, my name's **Tracks**. I'm kind of an Autobot who's vehicle mode has an additional system included."

"What kind of system," Meryin asked.

"It's basically something that allows me to extend a pair of wings and fly when I need to," Tracks replied. Everyone whistled in awe at that response.

"I guess that just leaves me," Smokescreen commented. "My name's Smokescreen, the youngest member of Sentinel's team. I was just recruited right after I graduated with Autobot Elite Guard honors and just before the _Xanthium_ had headed out on its mission."

Bumblebee then turned to Sentinel, and asked the question that had been plaguing his processor since the _Xanthium_ had launched. "What was it that this ship was carrying when it left Cybertron sir?"

That immediately caused the whole room to go quiet, as all the Autobots under Sentinel's command looked at their leader, wondering if he was really going to answer that. Sentinel saw this, and the looks of curiosity that was on the six humans' faces before he answered, "I suppose it would be alright to tell you all. After all, I'm sure you saw one of the items we were transporting in action already."

"We have," Shinn asked.

"Yes. It was used by Smokescreen and is what he calls his signature tool," Sentinel said. At that point everyone glanced as Smokescreen, and it was then that Bumblebee finally noticed a small device attached to Smokescreen's left arm.

"Is that…the phase shifter," Bumblebee asked. "But…that went missing along with all the other objects that were…"

"Stored in the Iacon Vaults," Sentinel finished. Seeing that he now had everyone's attention Sentinel walked over to a nearby display panel and brought up several images of strange devices of all kinds and shapes. "The reason that the objects in the Iacon Vaults went missing is because our ship was tasked with secretly transporting them off world to a place in which they would be out of Decepticon hands."

"And if what you said is really true Bumblebee, it looks like we were more successful in doing that than we intended to be," Blaster rapped with a bit of a sad tone. Everyone on the _Xanthium_ had been told of what Bumblebee had told Sentinel earlier, but that did not mean it was any easier to process.

"Alpha Trion believed that it was for the best that these items be transported off world and entrusted us with all of these objects and one other item which I myself created," Sentinel continued. "Are you aware of the capabilities of Space Bridges Bumblebee?"

"A little too familiar actually," Bumblebee replied, knowing that it was an unstable Space Bridge portal that sent he and his fellow Autobots to Earth in the first place.

"What's a Space Bridge? Is it anything like the Ground Bridge," Cagalli asked.

"Yeah it is, except it has a much greater range," Bumblebee replied. "While a Ground Bridge could transport you anywhere on planet Earth, or even to and from the PLANTs either with the right amount of power or with the right conditions, a Space Bridge can transport something across the galaxy. To put it simply with the best example I can think of, it could transport you from Earth all the way to Cybertron."

Everyone who did not know about this gasped in shock. Athrun then turned to Sentinel and asked, "Are you saying that you have schematics or even the materials to build a Space Bridge on this ship?"

"No. The original Space Bridges have not been in use for centuries, and they have fallen so far into disrepair from the lack of use that only the ancients who first built them to travel to other worlds could know how to repair them," Sentinel replied.

"The ancients or Shockwave," Bumblebee muttered.

"As I said, it is an item I created that works in a way that is similar to the Space Bridge. The main difference being that unlike the Space Bridges of the ancients which relied on large towers on Cybertron or a large archway, this Space Bridge is capable of being installed onto a ship and can be used at anytime from anywhere. In essence, I have perfected a miniaturized version of the original Space Bridge creation devices," Sentinel explained.

Now it was Bumblebee's turn to gasp in shock. He had overheard Ratchet talking about trying to do the same thing for the past two years with Erica Simmons and some of the other technical minds of the Autobots, and now he has found out that it was possible to do, because Sentinel Prime had already done it. That was when Bumblebee noticed one particular image among the images of the Iacon relics and gasped once more as he pointed to the image and asked, "Is that what I think it is?"

Sentinel looked to where Bumblebee was indicating and gave a small smile as he said, "Yes Bumblebee. It is indeed." After he said that, Sentinel tapped the image and it instantly became enlarged to show everyone what Bumblebee had saw. The image was of a large, gold and silver hammer that seemed very to possess a very interesting design.

Shinn raised an eyebrow in confusion as he said, "I think I'm missing something. This thing just looks like a fancy hammer to me."

"Well the primary tool of the god of thunder in Norse mythology was just a simple hammer too Shinn, so this must be a pretty impressive hammer if it's one of these Iacon relics," Lunamaria quickly reprimanded.

"You are correct Lunamaria Hawke," Sentinel told the young girl. "This hammer is the legendary Forge of Solus Prime."

"Solus Prime…hey I think I remember Optimus mentioning something about that once," Cagalli suddenly exclaimed. "Wasn't she one of the original thirteen Primes created by Primus?"

"That she was Representative Athha," Sentinel replied. "Solus Prime was the weapon-smith of the Primes, and it was with this very forge that she crafted so many weapons. With it, one could create any weapon or even Transformer body parts with the simplest of materials or machinery."

"What exactly does that mean," Rey asked, highly intrigued by this forge.

"Let me put it to you this way," Bumblebee answered. "If we had this thing in the last war, we would not have needed to destroy GENESIS, because we could've used it to make the massive weapon mobile enough to transport it to Cybertron and we could've used it to turn our Ground Bridge into a Space Bridge. Not only that, but we also could've used it to restore my voice box ages ago, perhaps even before I ever left Cybertron."

"Exactly Bumblebee," Sentinel confirmed as all the humans just stared at the hammer in awe after hearing everything the scout had said. "But there is a catch. You see, the forge can only unleash its true power, the power Bumblebee had just spoken of, when it is wielded by one of Solus's descendants. In other words, it can only truly unleash its full power in the hands of a Prime. I am sad to say though that we do not possess all the Iacon relics, because Alpha Trion himself sent one off to parts unknown before we began our mission."

"Which one was that," Meyrin asked.

"The mighty sword of Prima, the Star Saber," Sentinel answered. The moment Sentinel said that, he noticed that Athrun, Cagalli, and Bumblebee all seemed to tense up a bit. "Do you three know of something about this blade?"

Athrun nodded in reply as he said, "The Autobots actually retrieved it during the previous war. Well, Earth's previous war. In fact, it was retrieved by Kira Yamato, Engineer Chief Erica Simmons of Orb, Ironhide, and Optimus Pr…"

"Uh Commander Optimus before Megatron and some of his Decepticons could get their hands on it. The only reason Athrun knows was because he was there too," Bumblebee cut in. "Optimus himself was the one to actually retrieve the blade and used it in his final battle against Megatron."

"I see," Sentinel said. "But I am curious about one thing. Alpha Trion told me that he had set up safe guards to ensure that the sword could only have retrieved by a Prime when it finally landed on a planet, so how is it possible that Optimus was able to retrieve it?"

Bumblebee froze for a bit before he let out a small sigh as he said, "I guess there's no hiding it anymore." At the looks of confusion from the _Xanthium_ crew, Bumblebee told them, "I wanted to wait and let Optimus tell you himself, thinking that it would be better if you heard it from him, but in your absence Sentinel, and after Zeta Prime's…demise, Optimus had to travel to the core of Cybertron for a mission of the utmost importance and on that mission, he met Primus. It was at that moment that Primus bestowed upon Optimus the Matrix of Leadership, entrusting the future to him, and ever since then…Optimus has been known as the last Prime."

Now it was the _Xanthium_ crew's turn to gasp in shock. "Optimus…is a Prime," Sentinel asked, barely able to believe it himself. "I had always thought he was worthy since he spoke before the council that time as Orion Pax, but I never dreamed that…"

"It's true sir," Athrun stated. "Optimus first introduced himself to Earth as Optimus Prime, and as Bumblebee had stated earlier, I was there when he and the others that were mentioned went to retrieve the Star Saber. I could only watch in amazement as Optimus effortlessly pulled the blade out of the mountain it had buried itself in when others had failed to do so, and I was told that a moment later, Optimus had to use the sword to cut an entire mountain in half before it crushed him."

"Slag, that is something," Crosshairs breathed in astonishment. All the rest of Sentinel's crew could only nod in agreement with that statement.

Sentinel then turned to Bumblebee to ask if there was anything else he should know before meeting with Optimus again after all these years, when suddenly the sound of a phone ringing reached everyone's ears. They all turned to the source to see Shinn grinning sheepishly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone to answer it. "Hello?"

_"__Hey big brother! Is everything okay with you,"_ the voice of Shinn's sister immediately asked from the other end.

Shinn glanced around nervously with a sheepish laugh as he said, "Mayu, this isn't a great time."

_"__Come on Shinn. We all heard about what happened at Armory One and I just want to make sure you're okay,"_ Mayu whined.

"Mayu, I'm fine, but besides that, I've told you that you can't just call me when I'm on duty," Shinn tried to argue.

_"__And yet the only time you don't answer is when you're in some big meeting or you're off piloting a mobile suit,"_ Mayu countered. She was right of course. Ever since Shinn had officially joined Z.A.F.T., the only times he did not answer his phone when Mayu called was when he was in an important meeting, in his mobile suit, or when he was in class for all the times back at the academy.

At that point, Shinn felt his phone get swiped out of his hand. For a second Shinn thought that Rey had taken it to tell Mayu to call back at a later time, but when he looked to see who it was, Shinn began to panic seeing that Lunamaria was the one who had taken the phone. The reason for the Impulse pilot's worry was that Lunamaria would always try to say something embarrassing about him to Mayu, or in failing that hear something embarrassing about him that she could use as blackmail material from his sister later on. "Hey Mayu, it's Luna," Shinn's so-called "friend" cheerfully said into the phone.

_"__Oh, hey Luna! Are you there with Shinn too,"_ Mayu asked.

"Yeah and a few big friends. Namely some of the Autobots who helped save us and your brother back when we had to fight in our mobile suits back at Armory One," Luna replied as she held out an arm to hold Shinn back from snatching the phone away again.

_"__Seriously?! You guys fought alongside the Autobots?! Which ones were they? Optimus Prime? No wait, Arcee? Oh, oh was it Elita One,"_ Mayu asked like an excited child in a candy store.

"Well most of them are new, and we're meeting them right now, but there was one that was among the first Autobots. Get this, it was Bumblebee, and you should've seen him in action when he saved me and your brother from some new 'Cons," Luna told the younger Asuka sibling as she kicked Shinn back when he made another grab for his phone.

_"__For real?! Bumblebee was there and Shinn didn't call to tell me sooner?! Luna you have got to tell him to get me an autograph from him,"_ Mayu instantly stated.

"Yeah I figured you'd say that. Don't worry though Mayu, I'll make sure that Shinn does that," Lunamaria said smugly as she elbowed Shinn in the gut as he made another move for his phone.

_"__Really?"_

"Hey have I ever failed to get your brother to do something for you," Lunamaria asked in a smooth tone.

_"__Well no, but that's only because you're my brother's girlfriend and he's totally in love with you,"_ Mayu replied teasingly.

"I'm not his girlfriend, and…wait, what'd you say," Lunamaria asked. Shinn quickly took advantage of her confusion and swiped his phone away from the violet-red haired girl's hand.

"Sorry Mayu, but Sentinel Prime of the Autobots has something important that he wants to tell us. I'll call you back later, bye," Shinn quickly told his sister as he hung up the phone. Shinn then forced down a blush as he threw a glare at Lunamaria who had shaken herself out of her shock when Shinn had grabbed his phone back.

"What? I just wanted your little sister to know that her big hero is doing alright. Oh and she said that you need to get a certain Autobot's autograph for her before you see her again," Lunamaria said in an all-too-innocent tone.

Chromia chuckled a bit at the two's interaction and stated, "Sounds like your little sister really looks up to you Shinn Asuka."

"Yeah it's always been like that between them," Meyrin replied. "Shinn's always done anything he could for Mayu, and Mayu's always practically worshiped the ground Shinn walks on almost as much as my sister does, but that's only because Luna's in lo-."

The younger Hawke sibling was immediately cut off when her older sister immediately tackled her and slapped one hand over her mouth as she her face started to turn the same color as her hair. "Meyrin! Don't just go around saying stuff like that out of the blue," Lunamaria shouted.

Blaster just looked on before turning to Bumblebee and asking, "Well this is really trippin'. Are all human femme like this or something?"

Bumblebee gave a small glance to Cagalli and saw her throwing him a look that promised pain if the scout said the wrong thing, or if he said it in rap, before he finally told the rapping Autobot, "Uh…it depends on the girl, but I remember a late Autobot ally saying that human femme are often even stranger than Cybertronian ones."

"Oh is that right Bumblebee? Well I guess I'd better let Arcee know that you think she's strange," Cagalli told the scout.

Bumblebee instantly cringed in fear as he quickly said, "I never said that! Please don't tell her that I even thought of saying that!"

"So you were thinking of saying it hmmm," Cagalli asked slyly.

"N-no, why would I ever think something like that about Arcee," Bumblebee quickly replied.

That was when Chromia smirked a bit as she waltzed her way over to Bumblebee and asked, "That actually reminds me Bumblebee. Now that we seem to have gotten business out of the way and moved onto other topics, I have to ask…have you asked my sister out yet?"

Bumblebee was now blushing once again, and Athrun quickly replied before the scout could say anything. "Yeah actually he has. They've actually been an official couple ever since Bumblebee got his voice back."

Chromia then squealed with joy as she cried out, "Oh I'm so happy to hear that! I can already see it now! You and Little Cee dating, having romantic moments, and eventually even ending up as sparkmates!"

"Ch-Chromia! That's…I," Bumblebee spluttered before he just let out a groan as he muttered about how Chromia was always like this when it came to the topic of romance between two people she knew very well, especially in the case of him and Arcee. In fact, Bumblebee was certain that Chromia had started spreading around the idea that he and Arcee were a couple before they actually were just so that she could get them together.

Any further conversation was suddenly cut off when the comm. system started beeping. Blaster was quick to head over to a nearby comm. panel and answered it saying, "This is the _Xanthium_. What's going down, please tell me now."

_"__This is the Deputy Captain Arthur Trine of the _Minerva_,"_ said deputy captain's voice replied. _"I'm afraid that I'll have to cut our crew members' and Representative Athha's visit to your ship short. Something urgent has happened and we need them back on the _Minerva_. Chairman Durandal has stated that he will explain the details to Sentinel Prime via a comm. link once he is able to tell the representative."_

"Understood _Minerva_," Sentinel replied. "We'll be sending your pilots and crew member back via the Ground Bridge in just a moment, along with Representative Athha and her two bodyguards."

_"__Please hurry, this is a matter of the utmost importance that could mean the fate of the entire Earth,"_ Trine then told him.

Sentinel's optics widened at this proclamation, and he then looked to the six humans, who all gained serious expressions and nodded in understanding, having heard the same thing themselves. The long-lost Prime then dismissed them and Bumblebee and asked Smokescreen to lead them to the Ground Bridge deck so that they may return to the new Z.A.F.T. ship, seeing both the leaving group and all of his crew silently praying to Primus that whatever was happening would not be as serious as Arthur Trine had indicated it to be as they did. Somehow though, Sentinel knew that those prayers were very much in vain, and he was only praying that something could be done to prevent such a catastrophe before it was too late.

* * *

**_AN: And there you have it. Shinn joined Z.A.F.T. because he was inspired by Bulkhead and because he couldn't join Orb due to the fact the nation was still recovering from the last war at the time. If you want to learn more about the mentioned moment that Shinn was talking about, then you'll need to go back to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime and read Chapter 24: Turning Blades and Tides. Plus the cargo Sentinel's ship was carrying was not the pillars, like I know some of you were hoping, but the Iacon Relics, including the forge of Solus Prime. I said that it would be in this story, and there you have it. Now as for what Sentinel will do with it, well you'll have to wait and see. As for the cargo not being the pillars, please! If I wanted forming a space bridge to be as simple as scattering a bunch of little sticks (And I say that because that's what they are in comparison to the Transformers) then I would've had Ratchet try to build some in the last story and there'd be barely to no story at all in this one_**

**_Shinn: Plus we got to see the full compliment of Team Sentinel in this chapter. Man that is some line-up._**

**_AN: Thanks, oh and if you're wondering about the exact appearance of each of the new Autobots, well Blaster looks like an Autobot version of Soundwave in Fall of Cybertron, Scattershot and Evac are pretty much the same as they were in Transformers Cybertron, Inferno and Roadblock look the same as they did in Transformers Energon, Prowl looks like he did in Transformers Robots in Disguise (2001), Red Alet as he did in Transformers Armada, and everyone else looks like they did in either the movies or in G1, Sentinel being among the former._**

**_Luna: Ooookay. Well I'm glad that we also got to hear a bit from Mayu. So glad she's not going to be a character that is just mentioned in passing every now and then._**

**_AN: Well if you liked that then be ready, cause there's a high chance we'll be hearing a bit more from Mayu in future chapters as well. Now if that's everything that we need to cover, onto the preview!..._**

**_Junius Seven is falling to Earth! With the impending the danger that the remains of the destroyed colony falling to the human world posses, the _****Minerva****_ and the _****Xanthium****_ are quick to roll out in order to provide whatever assistance they can to stop this threat to Earth. They soon find that they're not alone in these efforts, as Bumblebee and Athrun join them to save the planet along with some familiar faces from the previous war and a new one as well. Just when it seems everything will be okay though, some unexpected interference suddenly finds its way into their path to success. What purpose are these extremists hoping to fulfill, and how much more complicated will it become with the Eradicons and Phantom Pain interfering as well? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 4: When the World Breaks****_. Zaku, Autobots, roll out to save what you can!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	4. When the World Breaks

_**AN: Welcome back folks and we are now at the point where things really got set off in Gundam SEED Destiny, that's right, the fall of Junius Seven! And here to join us in starting things off is the newest female Autobot hero of the Cybertron Cosmic Era, Chromia. And of course we can't forget our other lovely guest today, the sole female pilot of the **_**Minerva_, the girl with a fiery attitude and kind heart for others, and of course the girl with a crush on one ofthis story's heroes in a Gundam, Lunamaria Hawke!_**

**_[audience applause]_**

**_Chromia: Hey great to be here!_**

**_Luna: Yeah I'll say, and I do not have a crush on Shinn!_**

**_AN: What? I never said anything about Shinn. So you mean you've got a thing for him?!_**

**_Luna: Ye-no! I...you...just answer some reviews or something._**

**_Chromia: How about this one from a "Guest" that asks..._**

**_AN: Stop. If this is the one that asked if Optimus's team Prime will make an appearance, I just want to go ahead and say that I allowed that review to remain up just so I can show everyone how much of a stupid question that was. This is the sequel to Gundam SEED Prime! Of course Optimus and his 'Bots are going to be in it! I mean really, that's like asking if Kira's going to fight Shinn in the original Gundam SEED continuity!_**

**_Luna: Okay moving on before he pops a vein...how about this review from "Many Faced Mage"?_**

**_AN: Ah yes that one. Well I will say that some of those Autobot characters will make an appearance in the final story, but as for the rest of them, they are an absolute no! Also, Optimus's team will stay the same as it was by the end of the last story when they finally get back into action again and when we come to the final story, aside from those characters you asked about who will not be making an appearance who I will not name (Rodimus Prime and Alana for starters) they will each have an important role to play at some point in the final story._**

**_Chromia: How about this one from "howard576" that asks how Shinn got a cell phone call out in Space?_**

**_AN: You're kidding me right? This takes place in a future timeline dude. I'm pretty sure that if they can make huge space battle ships and mobile suits, that they've come up with a phone reception or whatever the term is that allows you to call someone even if they're in the middle of Space so long as its near the PLANTs or Earth's part of the galaxy._**

**_Luna: Well I guess that's that, unless you want to say something in response to "Czar Joseph" and his rant on how he's against Cagalli and Yuna._**

**_AN: Oh I've got something to say to that alright [starts getting an evil grin] Believe me my friend, Cagalli's gonna give Yucka...I mean Yuna that hard slap of reality that she hates him alright, but she's going to do so in a way that will make you wish you had camera to take a picture of the look on his face and then show to your future kids as you tell them, make sure you're a good person, otherwise you'll end up like this pathetic, messed up, loser. Let me put it this way, imagine the best way you can think of for Cagalli to ultimately reject Yuna, and then magnify that by about ten or even a hundred, and I think you'll get close to what I have in store for Yuna Roma Seyran. [begins to laugh evilly]_**

**_Chromia: [backs away slowly] Well, I think we should let him have his moment and start the chapter. Luna would you be so kind?_**

**_Luna: Gladly._**

**_lyokoMARVELanime does not own anything from either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

**_As mentioned before, new Transformers characters that are finally getting an official introduction to the readers will have their names in bold the first time._**

* * *

**Chapter 4: When the World Breaks**

As soon as Bumblebee and the six humans had returned to the _Minerva_, Cagalli and Athrun had immediately headed off to meet with Chairman Durandal with Bumblebee following in his Holo-Form, while Meyrin headed for the bridge while the three pilots headed for the lounge to meet with the rest of their friends on the ship to wait for her. As soon as the two from Orb and their Autobot Guardian had arrived in the officers' quarters, exchanged the expected pleasantries with Durandal and Captain Gladys, and made contact with Sentinel on the _Xanthium _they immediately got right to business on a matter that horrified all three of them. "What'd you say?! Junius Seven is in motion?! But how come," Cagalli exclaimed in shock when Durandal told them.

"I have no idea," Durandal replied. "But what we do know is this: it is moving quite quickly, and on the most dangerous course."

"Our crew has already confirmed the reports," Talia then added. They all saw the holographic representation of Sentinel that was being projected by the device they were using to communicate with him had turned to look off to the side before he stated that Blur had just confirmed the report as well.

"How could this happen," Athrun asked. "The remains were supposed to be in an orbit that would be stable for hundreds of years."

_"__Perhaps a collision with a meteorite or some other external factor is the cause,"_ Sentinel suggested.

"Those are likely possibilities, but in any event it is moving. Even as we speak it's headed for Earth," Durandal then stated grimly.

"If it falls…what's going to happen if it falls to Orb…or even to anywhere on Earth," Cagalli worried aloud.

"I don't need to tell you Princess. You know what will happen when something that massive strikes Earth," Durandal reminded her. Cagalli just hung her head knowing that the PLANT Chairman was right in this as Sentinel voiced the result aloud.

_"__The planet Earth will be destroyed,"_ the formerly-long-lost Prime stated sadly, not noticing how Bumblebee lowered his head at the thought of his second home possibly falling to the same fate as his first.

"The PLANTs are devoting all their energies to preventing the collision and finding out how it started moving in the first place," Durandal then revealed. "I must apologize for involving you in yet another incident Princess, but I've ordered this ship to head for Junius Seven as well. The _Minerva_ will be on its way as soon as the necessary repairs are completed. Fortunately we don't have very far to travel. It's inconvenient, but I hope for your understanding Princess."

"But of course," Cagalli immediately replied. "This matter concerns us as well, so just ask if there's anything I can do at all to help you."

_"__I understand how you feel Representative, but please remain calm,"_ Sentinel suddenly spoke up, getting everyone's attention. _"I am certain that if we need your help for anything we won't hesitate to ask you for it, and I assure you that the _Xanthium_ shall be providing any support it can to stop Junius Seven as well."_

"Thank you Sentinel Prime," Durandal and Cagalli both said.

"It may prove to be difficult, but we are trying to contact Orb so you can communicate with your homeland, and we're also trying to arrange for a ship to come and try to pick you up as soon as possible Representative," Talia then informed Cagalli.

"Yes, that will be fine," Cagalli replied sadly.

Bumblebee then placed a reassuring hand on Cagalli's shoulder before he turned to the others and stated, "I'll try to do what I can to get in touch with Optimus and the others on Earth to see if they can send any help as well, but I'm afraid that my comm. link is going to have a hard time reaching the base we have on Earth given our current position."

_"__Not to worry Bumblebee. If you feel you need to, I would be happy to have Blaster relay a message to Optimus for you,"_ Sentinel then told the scout.

Bumblebee nodded in thanks for that and then asked Sentinel if he could go ahead and do that right now just to be on the safe side. With all of that out of the way, Sentinel ended his communication with the _Minerva_ and its three guests, and said guests immediately left to return to Cagalli and Athrun's temporary room.

* * *

Sometime before the meeting had come to an end, Meyrin had come to the lounge to tell her sister and their friends on the ship about Junius Seven and what had happened. Everyone's shock was the same as Cagalli's when they found out about the news, and everyone was still wondering one thing about the whole incident. "But how'd it start moving," Vino asked.

"Maybe a meteorite hit, something from outside that altered the orbit," Yolan replied.

"So now that thing's really on a collision course with Earth," Shinn then asked.

"Yeah, that's what Bart told me," Meyrin nodded solemnly.

Lunamaria then let out an exhausted sigh as she said, "First the raid on Armory One and the Decepticons gone worse, the Eradicons, show up, and then before either one of those messes can be settled this happens?! What is going on lately?" Everyone had to agree with the female pilot's little rant on that, but none of them had an answer to her question. Getting herself together again, Lunamaria then looked around the room and asked, "Well, if Junius Seven is moving, then what do we do about it?"

Everyone glanced around the room to one another for a moment before Rey broke the silence answering, "Just break it up." Everyone gasped in shock at what Rey had suggested as they looked to him in surprise, so the blonde began to elaborate on the logic to the suggested course of action. "Listen, it's impossible to change its orbit, so if you want to stop it, break it up."

"But it's huge," Yolan argued. "Even if you successfully break it in half that's still eight kilometers."

"Yeah how do you smash something that big," Vino asked.

"And what about the victims? It's filled with the bodies of those who died," Meyrin added.

"But if it hits, Earth will be annihilated, and if that happens nothing will be left. Either living or dead," Rey countered. That gave everyone a moment of pause, as the thought of Earth being destroyed would be reason to horrify any sensible person.

"It would be just like what happened to Cybertron, only much worse," Shinn then whispered, but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear, and they all agreed with him immediately. If Junius Seven hit the Earth, then unlike Cybertron, there would not be anything left at all, or any hopes of bringing life back to the home world of humanity.

Yolan then gave a small sigh as he smiled and said, "Oh well. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. It's out of our hands, but hey, look on the bright side. This'll take care of a lot of hassles for us, and things will be way better on the PLANTs from now on."

A loud bang suddenly caused Yolan to nearly jump out of his engineer suit while everyone spun to see Shinn had slammed his fist against the wall as he glared angrily at Yolan. "Don't even joke like that Yolan! Do you seriously think that the possibility of so many people dying is some damn laughing matter? Things are supposed to be better after all the suffering that we all went through in the last war, but that kind of talk could cause someone to think that nothing had changed at all," Shinn shouted.

Yolan immediately felt ashamed of himself for what he had just said and immediately muttered, "You're right. I'm sorry."

"You'd better be," Shinn huffed. He then smirked as he added, "After all, I'm sure that your joke has seriously upset Representative Athha."

Everyone raised an eyebrow in confusion at Shinn's statement, before the crimson eyed pilot nodded towards the door to the hallway. Everyone turned to see a somewhat angry Cagalli standing there with Athrun and Bumblebee right next to her, the latter of the two seeming like he was still trying to calm down after hearing Yolan's "joke". Shinn then walked over to Cagalli and asked, "Let me guess. You were about to storm in here and rant on about how Yolan's comment made it seem like the people of the PLANTs had not changed after Chairman Durandal took over like you thought they had, how we all had to deal with the suffering that the last war brought us, and a bunch of other stuff along those lines right?"

Cagalli nodded sheepishly in reply before she smirked a bit and stated, "Looks like you beat me to it though."

Shinn shrugged as he gave a light chuckle in response. "I don't blame you for thinking that way, especially since it was probably hard for you to tell that he was joking from where you were, but if I may, you really shouldn't just jump to conclusions based on a misunderstanding like that."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks again, Shinn. It seems like you keep on seeming like you'd be a better politician than I am. Sure I can't convince you to give up being a pilot and come and take this job off my hands," Cagalli smirked.

"Oh no thanks," Shinn chuckled as he raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. "I wouldn't last two seconds in one of those meeting rooms. I tend to get a bit emotional pretty easily sometimes, and not to mention that I'd have to just sit back and watch, knowing I should be out there fighting, while others did the fighting for me. No offense."

"None taken," Cagalli reassured him.

Shinn then glance at Athrun and Bumblebee and asked, "Are you guys going to do anything to help with Junius Seven?"

Athrun just looked away, unable to answer, while Bumblebee stated, "I'll try to do what I can to help out there if I'm able to, but I've also asked Blaster to contact Optimus and ask him to send some Autobots from Earth to help us as well. Whether or not he gets the message is something only time will tell us though."

Shinn nodded in acceptance of this, and as he watched the three leave the room after they bid everyone farewell, he found himself silently praying that Bumblebee's message to Optimus Prime did get through. They would need all the help they could get if they were to save Earth.

* * *

Meanwhile on Earth, the leader of LOGOS, Lord Djibril, had just received approval from his fellow members to proceed with what they called "the plan", which would inevitably lead to a new war against the Coordinators. Everyone was quick to agree with Djibril's plan and agreed to meet after the incident that would allow them to proceed with this plan, the fall of Junius Seven to Earth. Having already thought so far ahead, Djibril had dispatched Phantom Pain and the Eradicons to further investigate the cause of Junius Seven's sudden fall from orbit, and knew that no matter what they brought back, it would be something they could use to stir the people's hatred to the point that they would wish to fight "for the preservation of our blue and pure world". The mere thought of that phrase truly angered Djibril, a fact proven true when he tossed a billiard ball across the room.

_"__Problem,"_ a voice suddenly asked over a hidden communicator. Djibril turned to see a holographic representation of the Eradicon leader himself had appeared to speak with him.

"Just venting a little frustration," Djibril stated. "I trust that things are going well on your end?"

_"__Aside from a minor…setback, we are still proceeding as agreed. That is assuming you remember to uphold your end of the bargain,"_ Lockdown replied.

"I assure you Lockdown, I am a man of my word," Djibril replied.

_"__Forgive me if I have a hard time believing that. I have many times encountered people who claimed to be 'men of their word', and well…let's just say they did not end up in a very healthy condition by the time I had left."_

"I must ask though, what is this little setback you mentioned exactly," Djibril inquired.

_"__Autobots that have long been thought lost to the stars, and of course an Autobot scout who may or may not be one of Optimus Prime's men. Though given all that I have seen, it is likely that the formerly lost soldiers are so far out of date that they can barely hold their own for long. The fact that they have lasted as long as they did is both a credit to luck and the abilities of their commander, who I am now certain is none other than Sentinel Prime,"_ Lockdown reported.

"Another Prime?! Like one wasn't bad enough," Djibril half-shouted.

_"__Rest assured, Sentinel will be dealt with Djibril, even if I have to snuff his spark personally,"_ Lockdown replied calmly. _"But at the same time, his vessel holds many objects of great value and power that I'm certain that you and I would find useful."_

Djibril was now intrigued by this information and then ordered, "Do what you wish to with the Autobots, but as for their vessel's cargo, keep as much of it intact as you can. We'll decide what to do with it later."

Lockdown nodded in confirmation of this and ended the transmission, leaving Djibril to stir in his thoughts of what the new Autobots may truly bring to his plans.

* * *

A few hours later, a pair of Z.A.F.T. ships had arrived near Junius Seven with a supply of meteor breakers that would be used to try and break Junius Seven apart before it fell to Earth, and were now preparing to head out while awaiting support from the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_. As everyone gazed at the ruins of the PLANT colony, everyone could not help but feel a bit intimidated, but they soon found themselves at ease when a familiar blonde in a Z.A.F.T. red uniform commented to his friend-now-commander, "Look at the size of that thing. It's huge."

"What did you expect? They have to be big Dearka. We live on these things, remember," Commander Yzak Joule, who now wore a white Z.A.F.T. uniform in place of his old red one, told his friend.

"The mission we're on right now is very important, so I commented on its size because it reminded me of just how important," Dearka Elsman told his friend.

"Hey if you two are done, we've got work to do," a female voice then told the two boys. The two friends looked towards the source of the voice, which turned out to be a girl with long brown hair that was tied into a single ponytail and eyes that were nearly the same color as Yzak's, wearing a female version of a Z.A.F.T. red uniform.

"Right, and that's why you and I can't stand around here all day, so let's get going Shiho," Dearka told the girl. Shiho Hahnenfuss was a member of the same graduating class as Dearka and Yzak, but unlike the two of them, she was not assigned to the Le Creuset team in the last war. To be honest, this was the first time she had officially served with them since they finished the Z.A.F.T. academy.

"Listen you two. We don't have a lot of time on this one. The _Minerva_ and the Autobot ship, _Xanthium_, are their way, so let's get this done right, okay," Yzak told the two as they headed into the elevator for the mobile suit deck.

"Roger Commander Joule, and don't worry buddy. I'll make sure your girlfriend stays safe," Dearka replied with a small smirk. With that, the blonde and Shiho left, just barely hearing Yzak yell in protest that Shiho was not his girlfriend.

"Do you really have to get him riled up like that," Shiho asked, irritation at what Dearka had implied being clear in her voice.

"Yeah kind of. It's just sort of our thing," Dearka replied with a shrug. A minute later the two arrived on the mobile suit deck and Dearka spared a glance at Shiho's machine. "Have I mentioned how weird seeing your machine makes me feel, or how jealous I am of the fact that you're piloting the same class of mobile suit that I used to pilot?"

"Yes you have. Constantly," Shiho replied as she headed for the grey machine. At first glance, one would think that it was the same machine that Athrun had first piloted after the raid on Heliopolis, but the backpack and weaponry it possessed quickly shot that theory down. It did not possess a shield for one thing, and it was also equipped with a set of devices that reminded Dearka of the Forbidden Gundam. Its beam sabers were also mounted on the arms and feet instead of being handheld, and could also be used in mobile suit or mobile armor mode simultaneously.

"The Rosso Aegis," Dearka breathed. "Still hard to believe that Z.A.F.T. actually went ahead and developed a new suit based on that one that we stole from Morgenroete back in the last war."

"Well don't expect to be getting a new Buster or anything any time soon, or for that matter, for me to hand it over to your long lost friend should he ever decide to return to the battlefield," Shiho stated.

Dearka would have retorted at that, but the sight of a familiar green-haired man caught his attention and he immediately floated over. "Nicol! You ready for this," Dearka called out to his fellow Z.A.F.T. red.

"You know it," Nicol replied. "Let's just make sure that we do what we can to keep Earth safe. We've both got a lot of friends there who're counting on us after all."

"That being said, we still going to be having that concert this weekend," Dearka asked as Nicol boarded his Zaku.

"Unless something happens to either one of us, yeah that's the plan," Nicol replied. Dearka gave a thumbs up at that and then floated over to his own Gunner Zaku. Ever since the last war had ended, Dearka and Nicol had become part time musicians, performing a few gigs every now and then either in the PLANTs or on Earth, depending on whether or not they could get a leave from duty for a certain amount of time. The two had become a big hit with the song that they had performed for their friends a few years back, and they were still going pretty strong.

Shaking themselves from these thoughts, the three Z.A.F.T. pilots quickly headed out with the meteor breaker teams to commence their mission. None of them realized that they would encounter any kind of resistance when they began the assignment, or just what that resistance might be, for the moment that they started landing on Junius Seven, they came under fire.

"What the," Dearka cried out in surprise as he immediately dodged a barrage heading his way. "Who're these guys?"

"Dearka, they're GINNS," Nicol then shouted.

"What?! Where'd they come from, or more importantly, who do they even belong to," Shiho asked as she pushed the Rosso Aegis out of the way before returning fire with her beam rifle. The GINNS themselves seemed to be specially customized machines, if the colors of the machines were anything to go by, but as for their exact identities, neither the three pilots nor Yzak's ship could identify them.

Nicol fired a few shots from his Zaku's assault rifle, when suddenly he was hit from the side by another group. Nicol could only brace himself for the impending follow-up attack, when suddenly the enemy was hit by a barrage from somewhere else. Everyone looked to the source and saw that it had come from a familiar red and grey Autobot that was charging onto the scene with three other familiar Autobots as well. "Okay boys, let's put some holes in these guys," Ironhide shouted as he opened fire once again.

"Oh we're gonna do more than that Ironhide," Hound shouted as he pulled out one of the many guns he had started to always carry with him.

"I think that's a given Hound," Bulkhead said, smashing his wrecking ball into one enemy mobile suit as he ran.

"After all, our team's motto wouldn't say that we call for clean up otherwise," Wheeljack finished as he deflected some shots with his swords. The three Z.A.F.T. soldiers who were more than familiar with these three smirked eagerly, seeing that the call to Optimus that they heard about seemed to have gone through, and they immediately went into battle against these likely terrorists together while the meteor breaker teams proceeded with their original mission. The whole time though, none of them were aware of the two ships that were observing all this from a short distance away.

* * *

As the battle progressed, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ had reached the point where they were just a few minutes away from the sight, and they were now preparing to send out their forces. At some point earlier, Athrun had actually come to the _Minerva_'s captain and the chairman to volunteer his services to help out, and Durandal allowed it as a special case on his authority. Bumblebee had also asked Sentinel to allow him to join the Autobots of his ship as well, and Sentinel gladly allowed it, so now Bumblebee was going to be heading into the field with Chromia, Smokescreen, Crosshairs, Drift, and Mirage as they acted as support for the teams breaking Junius Seven up alongside the _Minerva_ pilots.

Just then, Tracks picked up a reading from the vicinity of Junius Seven that led to only one conclusion. "Sentinel, I've got a number of heat emissions and energon readings on the sensors. There appears to be a battle underway at Junius Seven," Tracks reported.

"_Minerva_, did you get that," Sentinel asked.

"Yes, and we're getting the same readings. The enemies are mobile suits and it looks like some Autobots are supporting the Joule team right now, but they might need backup," Talia replied.

"Understood. Have your pilots prepare for anti-mobile suit combat at once while my Autobots prepare for battle as well," Sentinel stated.

"Already working on it," Talia replied as she heard Meyrin relaying the orders already.

"Abort launch," Meyrin called out. "Situation has changed! The Joule team is engaging unknown enemies at Junius Seven! All units are to re-equip for anti-mobile suit combat."

"Sentinel, we've got another major, serious problem on our hands. Sensors are detecting the _Tidal Wave_ and Bogey One in the vicinity, could possibly indicate that they are attempting to interfere as well. Highly unlikely otherwise," Blur then reported in his usual high speed voice.

Sentinel snarled at the situation that had now begun to develop, but he knew that nothing about the mission's objective had changed. "Autobots, the mission objective is still the same. Once you're ready, roll out at once. The mobile suits of the _Minerva_ will be doing so as soon as they've changed equipment as well," Sentinel ordered. He then paused for a moment before he added, "Bumblebee, I'd like for you to take command of the Autobot forces once you've all launched."

"Wait what? Y-you want me to lead them," Bumblebee stuttered in response. The scout was now extremely nervous because he had never been asked to lead a team before.

"You know this area and the Autobots that are already onsite better than we do, so it only makes sense that you lead them on this mission," Sentinel replied.

Seeing he had no way out of the situation, Bumblebee just took a deep breath and replied, "Yes sir. I'll do my best." Bumblebee then opened a comm. channel to everyone heading out. "Listen up Autobots, you all heard Sentinel's orders, but don't think that means you're any less important for this mission, and that goes for all of us. For this mission, we're a team and we're going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Earth is not destroyed today. I guess there's only one thing left to say." Bumblebee then paused for a moment, not believing that he was actually going to be giving this order to other Autobots for the first time in his life. "Let's roll out!"

With that, the Autobots immediately took off and headed out of the _Xanthium_ and towards Junius Seven and the battlefield that awaited them, and they were soon joined a minute later by the _Minerva_ pilots, starting with the Impulse, as Shinn called out, "Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor launching!"

A minute later, Rey and Lunamaria had launched as well and headed off after their friend and the Autobots, which left only one other person to launch from the _Minerva_. The minute the Zaku he was piloting was equipped with a Blaze Wizard pack, Athrun received the go ahead to launch and he immediately thought to himself, _It's been a long time since I've said this_. "Athrun Zala, launching!"

A minute later, Athrun's Zaku was blasting down the launch deck and out into space alongside the others, and they all charged off to support the Joule team and the Autobots that had already arrived from Earth.

* * *

Back at the battlefield, Yzak had sent out rifles for the GuAIZs that were already deployed before heading out himself in his personal Slash Zaku Phantom. Yzak was quick to rush over to Dearka, Nicol, and Shiho to provide what support he could so that the work crews could continue, but a moment after he arrived, they detected enemy signals and saw Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss blast onto the battlefield to attack the work crews alongside the unknown GINNs, clearly thinking that they were all one group.

Ironhide saw this as well and immediately ordered the Autobots already on Junius Seven to move to help the four Z.A.F.T. pilots, but they were all suddenly under attack themselves. Looking towards the source, Ironhide saw the Eradicons Crumplezone, Thrust, and four others heading their way. The other four consisted of a purple speed boat with a large missile launcher, a tan and purple fighter jet, a grey and purple space shuttle, and a green and silver 'Con with blasters for fingers, a pair of launchers on his shoulders, and one eye that was larger than the other.

The speed boat was first to open fire on Ironhide's team as a female voice cackled, "Sorry boys, but I'm afraid I can't let you go doing that."

"Hey **Thunderblast**, how about you just shoot them and stop acting like this is one of those stupid parties you like so much," the green and silver 'Con with the miss-matched eye sizes remarked as he fired his blasters at Hound.

"Ah let the girl have a little fun **Demolisher**. It's not like it's the end of a world if she does," the space shuttle remarked.

"Your need to just wave off these things casually never ceases to astound me **Astrotrain** my friend," the tan fighter jet commented. The moment he had reached Junius Seven, the jet immediately turned into a tank of the same colors and started blasting at the Joule team's forces as he shouted in a different voice, "You need to just completely destroy them all instead of wasting time joking like a clown!"

"How did we get stuck dealing with these guys, especially the crazy triple changer, **Blitzwing**," Crumplezone asked.

"You want to lodge a complaint; then by all means, I'm sure Lockdown would love to hear it," Thrust argued as he opened fire as well, aiming for Bulkhead.

"No thanks I'm good," Crumplezone quickly stated, obviously not wanting to incur his leader's wrath. Crumplezone was quickly brought out of his musings when he was suddenly shot at from his side by Wheeljack, and he then quickly moved to engage the Wrecker with his cannons.

Thunderblast was about to unleash another barrage of her own when she was suddenly struck from the side. "Hey, who's the killjoy that decided to throw me off like that," Thunderblast demanded as she transformed to robot mode.

"I'll give you three guesses tramp," Chromia replied as she charged towards the Eradicon femme.

"Not you again," Thunderblast moaned as she aimed her launcher at Chromia and fired. Chromia was quick to dodge the missiles that came her way and then returned fire just as the Gaia was about to hit her. Before the black Gundam could hit Sentinel's second in command, it was quickly hit hard by a blast from Lunamaria's rifle, leading the two female pilots to quickly engage each other in battle.

It was not long until the remaining Autobots of the _Xanthium_ and the forces from the _Minerva_ had arrived on the scene and each engaged a different opponent, with Shinn and Athrun moving to take on the Abyss and the Chaos, respectively, and Rey moving to shoot down any enemy that was directly targeting the demolition teams. Bumblebee immediately hit the surface of the destroyed PLANT and opened fire on Blitzwing as he tapped his comm. link. "Autobots, we can't just attack these guys aimlessly like this, we need to get organized. First, hook up with Ironhide's team and then we'll split off into teams," the scout stated as he ran over to the previously mentioned weapons specialist.

"Hey kid. Good of you to join us," Ironhide said as soon as Bumblebee had reached him. "You know, Ratchet had to use the energy boost to the Ground Bridge that was meant to bring you back to send us here so we're going to need a lift if we want to get back to Earth anytime soon. With that said, I gotta ask, who's your cavalry?"

Bumblebee smirked beneath his battle mask as he replied, "Autobots from the _Xanthium_."

"You're kidding! As in the same _Xanthium_ that disappeared years ago," Ironhide exclaimed.

"You tell me," Bumblebee replied as he jabbed a finger in the direction of Mirage and Smokescreen as they ran over to Bulkhead. Ironhide immediately smirked and felt a new burst of energy run through him as he stood up and recommenced firing on the enemy with Bumblebee right beside him.

At the same time, Drift had flown over to Wheeljack's position and slashed at Crumplezone with his swords. He then began using his swords to deflect incoming fire as he told his fellow Wrecker, "It is good to see my old friend."

"Drift," Wheeljack exclaimed. "Well aren't you a sight for sore optics?" The two sword-wielding Wreckers then began to tear apart Crumplezone together with their blades as the rest of the Autobots from the _Xanthium_ arrived to help out. A minute later though, the battle was brought to a standstill as Junius Seven suddenly began to quake. Both groups of Transformers quickly leapt off of Junius Seven at that point along with the mobile suit forces of both sides as the remains of the destroyed PLANT suddenly split in half.

"Looks like they pulled it off," Bulkhead murmured.

"Indeed it does. Rather…impressive," Mirage begrudgingly admitted.

"But the job's not done yet," Athrun then shouted. "We need to break it into smaller pieces."

Dearka, Nicol, and Yzak all gasped at the sound of their old friend's voice over the radio and were all equally shocked when they realized that Athrun was out there with them. "Athrun," Dearka gasped.

"Is that really you, Athrun," Nicol asked excitedly.

"Bastard. What the hell are you doing out here," Yzak demanded, but found he could not help but smile all the same.

"That doesn't matter right now. We've got a mission to complete," Athrun responded.

"Right. Thanks for the update," Yzak retorted.

At this reply, Athrun simply chuckled, "You haven't changed a bit Yzak."

"Yeah and neither have you!"

Dearka just popped his neck a bit as he moaned, "There they go."

"Yep, and it's only been a couple of minutes," Nicol agreed.

"Seriously? They're always like this," Shiho asked as she brought the Rosso Aegis over to the four as they moved a meteor breaker to the next location.

Athrun gasped a bit at the sight of the familiar red mobile suit, but quickly shook himself out of it when he realized that it was not his old machine. He then answered Shiho's question saying, "Trust me, this is a normal conversation for us. Say you're Shino right?"

"It's Shiho," the female pilot corrected. "Good to hear from you again after so long Zala."

The little reunion of the five Z.A.F.T. pilots was quickly interrupted when their warning sensors went off and alerted them to approaching enemies, namely the GINNs from before. Yzak, Athrun, and Shiho quickly moved to engage them while Dearka and Nicol increased their velocity to get the meteor breaker in place. Yzak and Athrun made quick work of three attacking GINNs while Shiho dealt with another two, as Dearka broke away from the meteor break a moment to use his long range rifle to blast a final one in their way apart. It seemed that things would go a bit more smoothly from then on until the Chaos and Abyss suddenly attacked them.

"Yzak," Athrun called out.

"Shut up! I'm the one in command here, so stop giving orders you damn civilian," Yzak shouted, even though he knew what Athrun had meant when he called out, as he sliced at the Abyss with his machine's battle axe.

"Believe me, I know, and I wouldn't have it any other way right now," Athrun replied with a smile as he sliced off one of the Abyss's legs. He then moved to fire on the Chaos to get his attention long enough for Yzak to fly up and slash apart its shield.

Watching all this unfold from nearby was a star-struck Shinn who could only marvel at the sight of the veteran soldiers in action. He was then knocked out of his thoughts when he received a hit from a number of energon lasers. Turning to the source, Shinn saw that Demolisher had opened fire on him while Thunderblast had moved to engage the Joule team along with the rest of the attacking Eradicons. Shinn immediately moved to shoot down Demolisher when the 'Con was suddenly hit from behind and sent flying away. Shinn looked to his rescuer and gasped in surprise at the familiar sight of Bulkhead, still firing on Demolisher.

At that point, Bumblebee decided that enough was enough and tapped his comm. link once more to give out orders. "Ironhide, Bulkhead, Hound, and Crosshairs, take up sniper positions and give us some covering fire. Everyone else on me. We're backing up the Joule team while they set up a couple more meteor breakers. Roll for it."

Having heard his orders, Drift immediately transformed to his helicopter mode and gave both Wheeljack and Mirage a lift over to Bumblebee's position, as the scout had already transformed and was racing alongside Yzak and the others in his vehicle mode with Chromia, Smokescreen, and Mirage. The four designated snipers were quick to move into position and fire on the enemies that were still approaching while the ground team set up and activated a couple more meteor breakers, which led to Junius Seven to break up even further. Despite this valiant effort, two of the pieces that were still falling were still rather large. Thinking that they were really in for it, the Autobots prepared to go down fighting, when suddenly the Eradicons moved to return to the _Tidal Wave_ and the _Girty Lue_ sent out a return signal to its mobile suits.

"What happened," Smokescreen asked as he deactivated his blaster. "Did they finally wise-up and realize we were trying to stop this disaster?"

"I doubt it kid," Bumblebee replied. "There could be another reason involved."

* * *

"Altitude," Talia Gladys stated, unknowingly finishing what Bumblebee was saying earlier. "If the ships continue falling with Junius Seven like this, eventually they won't be able to escape the Earth's gravity."

_"__That means we must make a decision as to which lives we can afford to lose. Who we can save, and who we cannot,"_ Sentinel stated from over the comm.

Talia nodded and then turned to Durandal and said, "I'm sorry it has to be this way, but would you please transfer to the _Voltaire_ Mister Chairman?" At Durandal confusion to her request, Talia explained, "The _Minerva_ is going to enter the atmosphere and attempt to break up one of the remaining targets with its main gun."

_"__As you are doing that, the _Xanthium_ will be doing the same with its own main cannons on the other target,"_ Sentinel then added.

"What?! You can't be serious Captain," Arthur Trine protested, something he seemed to do a lot in regards to his orders as of late.

"I don't know how much of a difference we can make, but it is definitely more of a difference than it would have been if we had to do so without the aid that we've been provided by the Autobots. Not only that, but if we did have a chance to do something to help and we just stood by and watched then how could we live with ourselves?"

"Talia, even still…" Durandal argued.

"I'm a woman who's got more than her fair share of luck. You can trust me, and I'm sure that with the _Xanthium_ by our side this will not be a problem at all," Talia reassured Durandal.

Durandal hesitated for another moment before he finally conceded, "Very well. Thank you Talia. We'll meet again."

"Right," Talia replied with a salute. "Mister Chairman, please. You should hurry."

Durandal then stood up to leave and was about to motion for Cagalli, who had come up to the bridge just before their forces arrived at the battle zone, to follow him when the blonde shook her head and stated, "I'm staying right here. Athrun and Bumblebee haven't come back yet, and besides if the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ are going to all this trouble to save Earth, then my place is right here."

Talia tried to argue against this, but Durandal cut her off and said, "If that is your wish Miss Representative then I shall respect your decision."

Talia just sighed in resignation at this and then had her ship send out the return signal to their mobile suits while Sentinel sent out a return call to the Autobots.

* * *

As soon as they received the return signal and a message stating what the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ were planning to do, Nicol and Shiho were quick to return to their ship along with Rey and Lunamaria, who headed back to the _Minerva_, while the Autobots all headed back to the _Xanthium_. Shinn was about to head back as well when he noticed that Athrun, Dearka, Yzak, and Bumblebee had not moved to return yet and instead were setting up another meteor breaker.

Drift had noticed this as well and quickly flew over to the four along with the Impulse as the Wrecker called out, "What are you all doing? We have been given the order to return. Did you not receive word?"

"No we heard, so you guys better get out of here," Bumblebee replied.

"You're all gonna get blown up as well! You do know that right," Shinn called out in distress.

"Shut it ya little brat," Yzak hollered. "Look, even if the two ships use their main guns, attacking it from the outside won't be as effective, but if we can get this one going…"

Shinn got what Yzak was saying and immediately brought the Impulse around to help steady the meteor breaker while Drift moved to a position where he could cover them from. Athrun and his two old friends looked at the young Gundam pilot in confusion as Shinn stated, "Even guys like all of you can't do everything on your own."

Athrun smiled in thanks while Dearka and Yzak were more vocal with theirs when suddenly, the rogue GINNs suddenly attacked them once again. "Those guys haven't left either," Shinn exclaimed as he drew the Impulse's beam saber.

"Athrun, we'll finish setting up this meteor breaker, you and the two Autobots go back up the kid," Yzak called out.

"You've got it Yzak," Athrun replied and he immediately pulled out his Zaku's beam tomahawk as he charged to engage them with Bumblebee and Drift close behind with their own weapons drawn. Drift suddenly had to deflect some beam blasts with his swords, but unfortunately, one blast got through his defense and hit the meteor breaker, throwing it off balance.

"My daughter's tombstone must fall! It is the only way the world will ever change," one of the rogue GINN pilots shouted before Shinn sliced his machine in half.

"His daughter? Just who are these guys," Shinn wondered aloud.

Athrun was wondering the same thing, but was soon brought out of his thoughts when he collided his tomahawk against another GINN's sword. As he struggled against his opponent, Athrun could hear the pilot inside call out, "Have you forgotten the innocent lives thrown away here? You're living in a damn dream world, laughing with the butchers who caused this you bastards! The cowardly successors of Clyne have deceived us! They've corrupted and weakened Z.A.F.T.! Can't you see that?!"

That was when Athrun and Shinn realized that these guys must have been soldiers who lost someone important to them when Junius Seven was destroyed all those years ago, just like how Athrun had lost his mother on Junius Seven. Athrun quickly brought himself out of his thoughts in time to block another strike with his Zaku's shield while the GINN pilot ranted on, "Patrick Zala knew it all along! The only true path for Coordinators was the one that he chose for us!"

At that declaration, Athrun felt every last ounce of fight in him just simply vanish, as he suddenly realized that these people actually approved of the atrocities that his father had caused and had nearly caused all because of his own arrogance and Megatron's influence, and that was enough for him to drop his guard long enough for his opponent to slice his Zaku's arm off and disorient Athrun.

Shinn immediately moved to try and help Athrun, but found himself caught in one of the remaining enemies' grasp as he blew up as GINN against Shinn, throwing Shinn off balance as well. At that point the remains of the recently destroyed GINN collided with the final meteor breaker, setting it off prematurely. At that point, the two ships had nearly reached their firing point and the pilots and two Autobots who had not returned to a ship yet could feel the heat from atmospheric reentry start to burn against their armors. Athrun tried to return reach the _Minerva_ when suddenly he was caught by the sole surviving GINN. Yzak and Dearka could do nothing more than watch as they found themselves being forced to prepare for atmospheric reentry in their mobile suits, but luckily, they did not have to worry for too long.

"Drift! Pass me a sword," Bumblebee called as he gave a mighty leap towards Athrun and his attacker. Drift was quick to grant the scout's request, and immediately threw one of his swords to Bumblebee. The minute he had the blade in his hand, Bumblebee spun the blade around and slashed the GINN off of Athrun, finishing the job by landing a hard kick against the GINN that sent it crashing into the Junius Seven remains that were still threatening the Earth.

The shock from the GINN's crash ended up doing the job that the meteor breaker was meant to do, and upon seeing this, Shinn immediately raced the Impulse over to Athrun's Zaku to help steady the veteran pilot while Drift transformed to helicopter mode in order to assist Bumblebee. Sadly, Athrun's grip did not hold for long, and he suddenly found himself falling to Earth with Shinn, Drift, and Bumblebee not far behind him.

* * *

Meanwhile, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ were still trying to get a lock on where the Impulse, the Zakus, and the two missing Autobots were before they fired their cannons, but they all knew that if they waited any longer they would not be able to fire the weapons at all. Knowing this, Talia reluctantly gave the order, "Activate Tannhäuser. Junius Seven cannot fall intact, and we're going to fulfill our mission no matter what it takes."

Sentinel nodded in agreement with the _Minerva_'s captain from his position on the _Xanthium_'s bridge and immediately followed up with his own order, "Main cannons, target the structure to starboard that the _Minerva_ does not target."

"Yes sir," Springer replied from the weapons control station.

A moment later, both ship captains simultaneously shouted out, "Fire!"

The two ships then fired a pair of shots at the two large pieces of Junius Seven before commencing their final phase of reentry, and all them knew they had succeeded in their mission, but there was still a very likely danger from the remaining fragments, though not as serious as there would have been had the _Xanthium_ not been around to assist them. This did not change the fact that they were now immensely worried for the missing Autobots and mobile suit pilots though. It seemed like an eternity to all of them until they were finally able to switch over to aero-dynamic control and engage atmospheric flight systems, and Talia asked how their communications were looking.

"Offline. The fragments are interfering with the radio waves ma'am," Meyrin reported.

"I hate to add to all the bummers, but I'm afraid we're stuck with the same problem my brothers," Blaster then stated before Sentinel could ask.

"Try to using the laser and thermal sensors. We have to find the Impulse, the Zakus, and the remaining two Autobots," Talia then ordered.

"Do you think they made it down safely Captain," Arthur asked.

"After firing both ships' main cannons like that, I have no way of knowing whether or not they made it, but I hope so," Talia replied sadly.

"Oh relax will ya," Ironhide suddenly called out over the comm. from the _Xanthium_ hangar. "Don't forget that Bumblebee's with them, so there's no doubt in my processor that they're alright."

"I hear that," Wheeljack agreed. "Bumblebee's got some magic charm or something that seems to keep him and any friends around him from ever dying. I mean the guy has survived getting shot to death by Megatron, several times, and a number of other situations where he could've ended up scrap and yet he always came back just as strong if not stronger than before."

Cagalli smiled knowing that Wheeljack had a point in saying that, but could not help but still worry for her missing friends all the same.

* * *

At that very moment, Athrun was struggling to keep his Zaku steady, but it was nearly impossible with its current, damaged state. "I guess you really can't go through reentry without a booster," Athrun commented.

"Athrun? Athrun can you hear me," Shinn suddenly called out over the radio.

"Shinn is that you?"

"Hang on I'm on my way," Shinn quickly told Athrun.

"No don't! Even the Impulse doesn't have enough thrust to stop two machines from falling on its own," Athrun argued.

"Then it's a good thing that he's not alone," Yzak suddenly called out as two loud bangs sounded within Athrun's cockpit. It was at this point Athrun realized that both Shinn and Yzak had just saved him from falling to his doom while Dearka flew alongside them just in case. "How come you always have to be so noble and say things like that?"

"Okay what would you rather I say then," Athrun asked his old friend.

"How about something like 'help me you bastard'," Yzak suggested.

Athrun just shrugged a bit as he chuckled, "Fine if that's what you want."

Yzak chuckled in response as he replied, "Nah that was just an example."

"Are they always like this," Shinn asked.

"Yeah pretty much, but don't let it fool you. This how they are when they're being friendly to each other," Dearka stated.

Shinn could only stare at the blonde on his monitor incredulously after that proclamation when he suddenly realized something. "Hey where's Bumblebee and Drift?"

The four looked around until they finally spotted Drift's helicopter mode with Bumblebee hanging off of the side of him. They all breathed a sigh of relief as Bumblebee lowered his battle mask and gave a small grin as he threw them a mock salute. A minute later, they saw a signal flare light up the sky and moved towards it, seeing the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ a minute later. Bumblebee looked up and stated, "Take us to the _Minerva_ Drift. It's the closer ship right now."

Drift gave an affirmative reply as he landed atop the Z.A.F.T. vessel alongside the Impulse, and the three Zakus a minute later. Suddenly, they felt the ship shake, as shockwaves from the fragment impacts from all across the world seemed to reach them, reminding them that there was still a lot of work to be done.

* * *

Sometime before the fragments had started to hit, a small beachside house was being evacuated to a safe location. The small cottage was not all that large, but the people who lived there were still very important to both each other and the world. As the war-orphaned children exited the house, they followed the instructions of their mother figure, a familiar pink haired girl in a simple blue dress, as she directed them to a nearby waiting collection of vehicles. The vehicles were a white sports car, a pink convertible, and a red and white ambulance, an odd combination of vehicles but for these people it was actually quite normal. The white sports car then called out, "Lacus we gotta get moving if we want to groove out of here before it's too late."

Lacus turned to give a radiant smile to her friend from Cybertron as she said, "Don't worry Jazz, we're coming." She then glanced to a nearby rocking chair only to see that it was empty. "Elita, Ratchet, did you see where Kira went?"

"He's just over there," Elita One replied. "Don't worry. Optimus will get him."

Lacus nodded in consent at this as she saw the familiar red and blue truck pull up to her boyfriend, who was watching as the sky became ablaze with the remaining fragments that were falling to Earth. Optimus Prime then rolled a bit closer to Kira as he stated, "Kira Yamato, we must take shelter in the Autobot base now."

Kira turned to his friend that he had known for so long as the last Prime, and nodded in consent as he climbed into the truck cab. As Optimus started towards the Ground Bridge that Arcee had used to send his team to Kira and Lacus's beach home, Kira mused aloud, "You know, I think this is the first time I've ever been in your vehicle mode Optimus."

Optimus gave a small chuckle in response as he replied, "That it is Kira. It most certainly is." Optimus's tone then grew a bit more somber as he stated, "I fear that this tragedy that is about to befall us is only the beginning though Kira. We can only hope that it does not lead to many dark times for Earth once more."

Kira sighed sadly as he and Optimus entered the green vortex that led to the Autobot base, Alpha I as he stated, "Somehow Optimus, I don't think we can avoid that. We're about to face very terrible times and many more nightmares."

* * *

**_AN: [still laughing evilly]_**

**_Luna: Wow he is still going at it._**

**_Chromia: I know. He must really be looking forward to typing that scene given what he has planned for that Yuna guy._**

**_Luna: You know I always did hate that guy, and seeing what he has planned for Yuna actually makes me understand that._**

**_Chromia: Well onto more important matters, we now have seen the final members of the Eradicons' line-up._**

**_Luna: Yeah that is impressive. Say I was kind of wondering about Demolisher's appearance._**

**_Chromia: From what I've read of the boss's notes, he supposed to look like he did at the start of Transformers Energon. You know before Megatron rebuilt him into a dump truck._**

**_Luna: Oh yeah, I remember now. Oh and I guess we can also point out this little plan he has for the final story._**

**_Chromia: Yeah if we want to join Shinn and Cagalli on the list of people that get hit with the spoiler thingy._**

**_Luna: Actually, according to today's script, he was already planning on revealing this._**

**_Chromia: Oh well by all means then..._**

**_Luna: So anyways, from what I can see, lyokoMARVELanime's plan for the final story in the Gundam SEED Prime series is to split the story into mulitple arcs, each with their own story line that ties into the overall story. The first major arc will basically outline how we are going to travel more of our version of the Transformers side of the universe while we hunt for clues on a certain disaster. The second major arc seems to involve us going to other Transformers and Gundam timelines, including one that will act as a kind of teaser for his next Gundam/Transformers crossover series. The final major arc is basically where everything finally comes to a head and leads up to a shocking conclusion that you may or may not be expecting by the time we reach that point._**

**_Chromia: Sounds like a complicated story._**

**_Luna: Are you kidding?! Have seen the stuff we'll get to do in the final story? I mean we get Gundams that..._**

**_AN:[finally stops laughing] DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]_**

**_Luna: Whoopsie. [Gets catapulted into freezing cold water]_**

**_AN: Well now that we have all that out of the way, and while Chromia and our staff get Lunamaria toweled off, onto the preview!..._**

**_Junius Seven's fall to Earth has caused great tragedy and misery among the planet's citizens, and one can only wonder what steps that both Earth and the PLANTs will take from this point on. As the questions of what will happen races through everyone's heads, the _****Minerva****_ and the_**** Xanthium****_ travel to Orb in order to return Cagalli to her homeland at long last so that she may discover her country's state after the tragedy. When they arrive though, they are greeted by some surprising individuals, which lead to the _****Xanthium****_ crew finally learning the full story of what had happened in their absence, but along with these reunions, comes the discovery of a great darkness that is beginning to rise in the land of peace. Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 5: Reunions and Problems in Orb****_. Sentinel, Shinn, brace yourselves for the news you are about to hear!_**

**_Please read and review, tell me what you think about this very basic level outline for the final story of this series, and I'll see you next time! Seriously hurry and get that girl toweled off. We kinda need her for like almost every chapter in this story, so we can't let her get a cold._**


	5. Reunions and Problems in Orb

_**AN: Whew this is one loooong chapter. I kind of expected the chapters to only be this long if they were chapters with a lot of action, but then again I guess stuff like what'll happen here is important, especially plot wise.**_

**_Shinn: Hey what's the big deal with you going and revealing all you did for the final story in the last chapter's authors note, and yet you get on me and the others for revealing things like how Grimlock's gonna..._**

**_AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]_**

**_Shinn: Not again! [Gets hit by an out of control truck]_**

**_Kira: That looked like it hurt, even in a loony toon type of zone._**

**_Durandal: Well it could be worse. At least he's not going to end up having Sentinel suddenly..._**

**_AN: DAH! ANOTHER SPOILER! [hits control again]_**

**_Durandal: Oh no. [Get's dropped into a vat of ice cold water that freezes him solid]_**

**_Lacus:...Actually, I'm surprisingly okay with that one. How about some review answers now?_**

**_AN: Sure let's start with this one from "Lone Gundam" that was posted back in chapter 3. I can't fully answer that, but I will say that the _Minerva_ crew won't be entirely fooled by Durandal, and Team Sentinel won't be fooled by him for a minute._**

**_Elita: And how about this one from "Seeker213" also from Chapter 3?_**

**_AN: Sorry, but I never saw anything from Stargazer so the only thing that will be from their will more than likely be mobile suits with different pilots._**

**_Lacus: There's a guest review that comments on the teaser for your final story as well._**

**_AN: Right I remember that one. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to pull it off and make sure that potential it has is lived up to in the fullest._**

**_Durandal: [Still frozen] What did I do to deserve this?_**

**_Shinn: [Struggling to stand] How can this kind of thing get much worse?_**

**_Megatron: [suddenly appears] Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne, we meet again!_**

**_Elita: Aw not again!_**

**_Kira: Seriously?_**

**_AN: Megatron. Hey Megs, yeah uh...you're not in this chapter either._**

**_Megatron: But just imagine the audience's surprise when my sword comes flying off the screen!_**

**_AN: This isn't a movie and even if it was it's not in 3-D._**

**_Megatron: Right into their faces, and then my fusion cannon..._**

**_AN: Get off my set!_**

**_Megatron:...Sorry lyokoMARVELanime._**

**_[Darth Vader theme music plays]_**

**_AN: Who's playing that?_**

**_Shinn: What? I thought it was appropriate._**

**_AN: Okay so, on with the story._**

**_I do not own anything from either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Reunions and Problems in Orb**

A few hours had now passed since the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ landed on Earth in the Pacific Ocean, and the crews of both ships had immediately begun emergency repairs. They had done what they could to try and get in touch with both Z.A.F.T. and even Orb, which was close by to them, but none of their attempts were successful, much to everyone's dismay. Cagalli was especially worried for Orb, since it was an island nation, and there was no telling what damages it may or may not have suffered from the falling fragments of Junius Seven, but at the moment there really was not all that much they could do. With the resulting storms beginning to clear up though, it seemed that things might start to get better eventually, but they all knew that it was not true.

"They were Coordinators, former soldiers with a grudge from the last war," Yzak stated matter-of-factly, though everyone could hear the underlying anger in his tone. All the pilots on the _Minerva_ that had been a part of the mission to break up Junius Seven had come together to meet with Sentinel and most of the Autobots that were also part of the same mission aboard the _Xanthium_ along with Cagalli, Captain Gladys, and Deputy Captain Trine in order to discuss what had happened.

Dearka nodded in recognition of this as he added his two cents. "Sure we may have done everything we could to stop it, but once word gets out that it was Coordinators with a grudge that actually caused this to happen…"

"Then the results will be that everyone on Earth will turn their hatred onto the PLANTs," Cagalli finished sadly. No matter how much she wanted to admit this, it did not change the fact that it was true.

Athrun could barely stand listening to the talk about what had happened anymore and just stormed out of the room before anyone could stop him. Shinn was about to go after him when Yzak stopped him saying, "Let him go kid. You heard what that guy had said to him."

Cagalli raised an eyebrow in confusion, having not heard it herself, to which Shinn sadly lowered his head and stated, "The guy said that Patrick Zala knew it all along, and that the only path for Coordinators was the one he had chosen for us. Obviously those idiots never realized that a lot of what Chairman Zala did was because of Megatron."

"No, not all of it," Cagalli stated sadly. Everyone looked at her weirdly when they heard her say that, and the blonde told them, "Athrun had tried everything he could to persuade his father to stop, but ultimately, it was all in vain, and the price was getting shot by his own father. Megatron didn't make him do that or order Patrick Zala to try and fire GENESIS at Earth. Zala did all that on his own."

Aside from those who already knew of this, everyone's eyes widened as they gasped in shock. None of them could believe that someone would willingly do such terrible things like that, but even so, someone had. Shinn turned his gaze to where Athrun had disappeared to and said, "He really lost a lot because of the war and the Decepticons. I guess when you consider all that it makes sense that he would want to try and leave all that behind and do what he did after the war, and while I do feel sorry for him, I can't help but wonder if it has really helped him, or if was it really the right choice for him?"

"No one can truly know what the right choice is Shinn Asuka, but that shall never stop us from doing what we can to ensure that we are making the best choice," Sentinel stated.

"In any event, we should probably head for Orb once the emergency repairs on both ships are completed," Talia then cut in, getting the meeting back on track.

"I agree Captain Gladys. As it was earlier stated, Orb is currently much closer to our location than any of the Z.A.F.T. Earth bases, and I will admit that I am eager to see who my old friend, Optimus, has gathered under his command," Sentinel agreed with a fond smile.

"I appreciate that Captain Gladys and Sentinel Prime, and I'm certain that Bumblebee and the other Autobots from Team Prime do as well," Cagalli replied in thanks.

"Say, where are Bumblebee and the others anyways? Shouldn't they be here for this," Lunamaria asked the only other Autobot from Optimus's team in attendance, Hound.

"Well Bumblebee wanted to introduce the others to some of the other 'Bots on the _Xanthium_, and strangely enough, Ironhide was insistent on not coming up here himself. I think he just wanted to avoid a run-in with a certain someone," Hound replied.

Everyone raised an eyebrow in confusion at what Hound was talking about on the latter statement, but they all shook it off as Cagalli continued on saying, "When we get to Orb, I'll do everything I can to see the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ are taken care of to show my appreciation for the efforts of both ships and their crews, but given the state of things as they were in Orb before I left and how they might be now, I can't even promise that much. Please forgive me Captain Gladys, Sentinel Prime."

"No need for that Representative Athha," Sentinel reassured Cagalli. "Leading an entire nation is difficult even for a well-experienced politician, let alone one so young such as you."

With that the meeting began to wind down and the _Minerva_ crew was about to leave when Lunamaria noticed that Shinn did not seem to be moving with them. Sentinel noticed this as well and asked, "Is there something the matter Shinn Asuka?"

"I was…I was just wondering if I could stay for a bit longer to meet the Autobots from Bumblebee's team," Shinn requested.

Sentinel gave an understanding smile and stated, "I don't see why not. Representative Athha won't be returning to the _Minerva_ until Bumblebee either says she can go on without him or that he will be ready to return as well, and I doubt either one will leave without Athrun…sorry, I meant Alex."

"Thank you sir," Shinn said with a salute.

"Please son, just call me Sentinel, okay," Sentinel requested.

Shinn nodded with a happy smile and then turned to leave, joining Cagalli as they headed for where Bumblebee was with the others. A minute later, Lunamaria ended up following after the two as well, eager to meet some of the other Autobots that first came to Earth as well. As he watched them go, Sentinel turned to where he thought his second-in-command was, but found nothing but empty air. Sentinel looked around for another minute, and after continuing to not see her, he asked Tracks, "Have you seen where Chromia went?"

"Yeah she left a while ago, and she looked pissed about something," the tactical officer of the _Xanthium _replied. Upon hearing that response, Sentinel seemed to pale as that told him exactly where Chromia went. Now he could only hope that she was merciful to the subject of her anger, but that was not very likely.

* * *

Athrun's bit of mindless walking in an effort to calm down and shake the memories that the Junius Seven mission had brought back to his mind had ended up leading him to wreck room of the _Xanthium_, which was where Bumblebee and the other Autobots from Optimus's team were along with Drift, Springer, Smokescreen, and Crosshairs. When they first heard that the _Xanthium_ had this particular room, everyone was both shocked and confused, because none of them could understand why a warship had a wreck room on it, especially one that was as lavish and relaxing looking as this one was. That was when Smokescreen explained that the _Xanthium_ was originally one of the ships that were used for exploration across the universe before the space bridges became inoperable, and it was only after the war began that the ship was refitted for combat purposes. For some strange reason, none of the Autobots on the _Xanthium_ could ever seem to find a new purpose or even a reason to change the room from what it was so they just left it alone.

It was in this very room that Athrun saw Wheeljack and Bulkhead laughing it up with some of their old war stories from the days before the Wreckers began to split apart in the war on Cybertron, Bumblebee doing his best to avoid Smokescreen's continuing fan-'Bot-ness while Springer just seemed to chuckle in enjoyment of the scout's torment, and a very surprising sight that Athrun never thought he would see. Over on one side of the room, Ironhide looked as though he were doing his best to stay out of sight as he kept stealing nervous glances at the door, almost like he was afraid something horrible was going to come in the room. Athrun was about to go over and ask the weapons specialist what was wrong, when he was spotted by Bumblebee who immediately called out to him, "Athrun hey! Why don't you come and join the party? I'm sure Smokescreen would love to hear about how things are on Earth from the perspective of a native to the planet."

Athrun just smiled in resignation as he thanked Bumblebee for that and walked over, when Bulkhead noticed Athrun was not looking like his usual self. "Hey you okay Athrun? You look like you've been having a really bad day," Bulkhead immediately asked.

"It's nothing Bulkhead," Athrun reassured the large Wrecker. "Just some stuff from the last mission that brought back some bad memories."

Bumblebee's face instantly changed to hold a look of sad understanding as he stated, "You know, just because those guys said that stuff, doesn't make it true. If you ask me, they were probably just a bunch of idiots who were looking for any little thing to justify their actions, and they figured saying that the chairman had said it was okay was a good enough reason. You shouldn't shoulder the blame for that Athrun. Despite what some may think, the sins of the father don't fall on the son."

Athrun gave the scout a grateful smile for his attempt to cheer him up, admittedly feeling at least a little better after hearing that. Before anyone could say anymore, they all heard an excited cry coming from the door, but Ironhide misinterpreted it as something else and immediately ducked for cover behind something. Everyone then turned and saw Cagalli, Shinn, and a star-struck Lunamaria standing in the doorway, and a minute later Shinn ran up to Bulkhead and exclaimed, "It really is you, Bulkhead. Hey you remember me, from Onogoro?"

Bulkhead was about to say no when he suddenly got a better look at the boy asking him and gave a small smile of recognition as he asked, "Shinn? Shinn Asuka?" At Shinn's excited nod in reply, Bulkhead gave an excited laugh as he proclaimed, "Of course I remember you. You were just a gutsy kid that was looking out for his little sister and almost lost his family if I hadn't saw that you were all about to get caught up in blast from enemy fire when I last saw you, and just look at ya now. You grew up and became a Z.A.F.T. pilot!"

Shinn's smile widened immensely at his old hero recognizing him as he replied, "Yeah I guess I did. I know it's a few years late, and I'm not entirely sure if I said it before or not, but at least now, I can finally, properly say thank you. Both for saving mine and my family's lives and for becoming my inspiration to be a mobile suit pilot."

Bulkhead smiled in response as he gave a chuckle in reply to this which brought smiles to everyone's faces at the tender moment between the two. It was not every day one got to meet their biggest hero and the one who inspired them to take the path in life they had chosen, so to see that Shinn had gotten to do so was a really heartwarming moment. The moment was soon interrupted though, as Lunamaria found she could no longer contain her excitement as she went up to the Autobots from Optimus's team talking a mile a minute. "This is so cool! The first Autobots of Earth, including the one that inspired my best friend! So which ones are you guys anyways?"

"Name's Wheeljack little lady," said Wrecker replied.

"I guess you already figured this out, but I'm Bulkhead, and that's Ironhide over there," Bulkhead then added, indicating Ironhide as he said that, who was still throwing nervous glances at the door.

"Wow it is such an honor to meet you guys. Oh by the way, I'm Lunamaria and can I just say that you guys are so amazingly awesome, because you are! Hey what's the highest number of 'Cons you've ever taken down in a single battle, or what's the most significant 'Con take down for you guys, or even what do you consider to be your best battles, or…"

"Will you pipe down please?! I'm trying to listen out for something over here," Ironhide shushed the girl quickly.

At that point, every single human in the room was wondering the same thing, and a certain young Autobot was the one to voice their question. "What's his problem," Smokescreen asked.

Wheeljack smirked a bit as he replied, "He's probably freaking out about what'll happen if Chromia finds out he's here."

"Wait, why would Ironhide be freaking out about that," Bumblebee asked, genuinely confused, because as far as he knew, Ironhide had never expressed a fear of Arcee's older sister.

"Oh let's just say they have a bit of history," Wheeljack replied casually.

"Wait, you mean that Ironhide's…" Bumblebee exclaimed as he looked between the still nervous weapons specialist and Wheeljack. When the Wrecker only nodded in reply Bumblebee threw Ironhide a look as he stated, "Ironhide, you are seriously screwed, and I do not pity you."

"Oh thanks a lot man! I thought we were friends," Ironhide retorted.

"I knew Chromia before I knew you, so…" Bumblebee replied.

"Whatever. Besides, Wheeljack's totally over-exaggerating anyways. I'm not scared of Chromia."

"Uh huh, sure Hide." Bumblebee then gained a small smirk when he noticed Ironhide's back was now facing the door and then turned to look towards the door as he called out, "Hey Chromia, what's up?"

Ironhide's previously smug face instantly turned to one of panic as he ducked behind a nearby chair and cried out, "Hide me!" A minute later, Ironhide heard everyone laughing and looked towards the door to see no one there, instantly leading him to realize what had just happened. "Oh ha, ha, freaking ha! That was NOT funny Bumblebee," Ironhide stated angrily.

"Oh yes it was," Bumblebee smirked in reply.

"Are any of you actually going to tell us what is the big deal with Ironhide and Chromia," Cagalli then interrupted.

"Why don't we just ask her? She is standing right there," Smokescreen said, pointing.

"Heh, nice try kid, but it won't work twice," Ironhide said, thinking that Smokescreen was trying the trick Bumblebee had just pulled on him.

"Uh Ironhide," Bumblebee tried to say.

"Oh no way Bee. I'm not falling for that again, even if you try to help him out," Ironhide retorted with his hands on his hips. "Besides, I've got no reason to be afraid of her anyways."

"Uh Ironhide," Bumblebee tried again, now sounding a bit worried.

"Forget it Bee. I told you, I'm not afraid of anything, especially not some femme that's been gone for years and now suddenly back from the dead like a freaky Terrorcon. Especially when that femme is just some pricy little princess who is barely even my height. Pits, I'll bet she struggles just to lift her own blasters," Ironhide continued saying.

"Ironhide," everyone then half-shouted.

"What," Ironhide asked. He then went stiff when he felt a very dangerous presence close to him as he asked, "She's standing right behind me, isn't she?"

"And she looks pissed," Smokescreen told him in a scared tone.

"How pissed," Ironhide asked nervously.

"There's only one way I can put it for you buddy. I can see how she and Arcee are related, because she's giving off the same scary aura, if not an even scary one, that Arcee gives off when she's really, really, _really_ mad about something," Bumblebee replied, and he knew from personal experience what that was like. Long story, do not ask.

Ironhide slowly turned around and saw a seething mad Chromia glaring daggers at him in a way that promised slow, torturous, bloody murder. Ironhide chuckled nervously as he said, "H-hi Chromia. I…uh…see ya!"

Before Ironhide could get very far in his mad dash to escape, Chromia had grabbed him by the back of his neck to drag him away and snarled, "I've been looking forward to this for a long time _Ironhide_."

Ironhide immediately threw a look to the others, begging them for help, but only received a surrendering gesture from all the Wreckers in the room, Bumblebee shaking his head in the negative, and Drift simply backing away from him. A minute after Ironhide was literally dragged away kicking and screaming, Smokescreen moved to go help when Bumblebee raised an arm in front of him saying, "I wouldn't do that kid. Trust me."

"Yeah. You won't survive if you do," Bulkhead added, a sentiment that Wheeljack and Crosshairs both nodded in agreement with.

"At times such as this, it is best to follow the wisdom of the ancients which says, he who places himself before a woman in fury, will get his aft kicked," Drift commented in a some-what sagely tone.

"Seriously, someone tell us what that was all about," Cagalli and Lunamaria demanded.

All the Autobots in the room other than Smokescreen replied with one word. "Ex-girlfriend."

That got wide-eyed looks of shock from all the humans and Smokescreen, and they all found themselves immensely glad that they were not in Ironhide's pedes right then.

* * *

A few hours after Ironhide's conversation with Chromia, for lack of a more pleasant word, Bumblebee had returned to the _Minerva_ with the humans that served aboard the ship and who were passengers of the Z.A.F.T. ship, and Rey and the Hawke sisters were out on the deck doing some basic shooting training. Lunamaria herself was not doing as well as she would like, and she could not help but pout at the sight of how well Rey was doing in comparison, although the latter was only doing better by a small margin. She then turned to see if Shinn had arrived to join them yet like he said that he would after he tried to call Mayu, when instead she found Athrun leaning against the wall with a nostalgic smile on his face. "Well, look who's here," Lunamaria exclaimed.

"Mandatory training," Athrun asked, remembering the days he did the same training.

"Oh yeah. They're giving us a break and letting us do it outside for now, but I don't seem to be doing very well," Lunamaria replied as she turned back to her practice target. She then paused as she thought of something before turning back to ask Athrun, "Hey, did you want to join us?"

"It's okay, I'll pass," Athrun politely declined.

Sadly, Athrun did not know that when Lunamaria Hawke set her mind to something, she did not give up easily. "Look, the truth is all of us here know who you are and what you've done," Lunamaria stated factually. "Formerly a Z.A.F.T. red with the Le Creuset team, and one of the two who first made contact with Cybertronians for Z.A.F.T., namely the Decepticon known as Dreadwing. In the middle stages of the war, you defeated the seemingly unstoppable Strike, and after that you were assigned to the national defense committee special forces, FAITH team, and then they made you the pilot of the ZGMF-X09 Justice Gundam. Your name is Athrun Zala, the human partner of the hero who gave his life stopping GENESIS, Dreadwing."

Athrun's eyes narrowed a bit as he lowered his head for a moment in remembrance of his late, Cybertronian friend as Lunamaria's tone softened a bit as she added, "I don't know much about your father, and I won't pretend to know how hard it was to lose someone who meant so much to you like Dreadwing, but what I do know is that you're pretty much a hero to all of us. Especially for what you did at the battle of Jachin Due."

Athrun glanced up for a moment and replied, "I wouldn't say that I'm a hero, but Dreadwing was one of my best friends, and while he may have lived a long time as a Decepticon, he died proudly as an Autobot."

Lunamaria smiled in acknowledgement as she walked over and said, "I'm glad to hear that, and I'm not going to force you to join us if you don't want to, but I do hear you're pretty handy with a gun, and I'm not that good so I sure could use a few pointers. I mean, Shinn and Rey have tried to help as much as they could, the former more so than the latter, but if a legendary veteran like you can help me out even a little…"

Athrun just smiled as he finally gave in and accepted the offered hand gun. He then walked up to the station Lunamaria was using and set up a different practice program that would have targets popping up in random directions at high speeds. It was at this point Shinn had walked out to join in, but he paused for a moment to watch and see how good Athrun was as well. A minute later, the program had started and Athrun was firing off at all the targets with great accuracy almost like it was nothing, shocking almost all four of members of his audience into silence. "No way. You're using the same gun, but what a difference," Lunamaria exclaimed.

"It's not the gun at all," Athrun replied as he handed the weapon back to Lunamaria. "See, you have this little habit of twisting your wrist just before you pull the trigger, and that's why your spacing is all over the place." As Luna accepted the gun back Athrun then added, "Yep it's a skill, but personally I don't think it's a very useful one."

"I disagree. It's important you know how to protect yourself and your friends from the enemy," Lunamaria argued.

"And aside from the Decepticons and the Eradicons, who are they," Athrun asked, confusing everyone for a moment. Before anyone could ask what he meant, a small cough got everyone's attention and they all looked to see Yzak and Dearka standing by the door.

"I thought you should know we're about to get underway and head for Orb," Yzak told everyone. He then turned to Athrun and asked, "Are you going to go back to Orb too Athrun?"

"…Yeah," Athrun replied.

Shinn then turned to Athrun as he asked, "Look I get that you went there to try and find a new life for yourself away from…all this, but what do you even do there? More importantly, is it really still to help you deal with your past and move on, or has it become just a way for you to hide from it?"

Athrun paused at the entrance before he said, "To be honest Shinn, I'm not entirely sure myself anymore." He then walked back into the ship and disappeared around the corner. A few minutes later, everyone broke apart the shooting range and headed back in as well to prepare for the journey to Orb.

* * *

The following morning, the two ships had finally arrived in port at Onogoro Island, and everyone aboard the two ships were looking forward to a brief amount of rest while their ships were receiving repairs. What they did not know was that it would not be as peaceful a rest as they thought, a fact that Athrun knew quite well. The only reason that Orb had welcomed the Z.A.F.T. ship was because it was bringing home their head of state, and the _Xanthium_ was only allowed into port because Cagalli had insisted that the ship be allowed in for the purpose of allowing its crew to meet certain citizens of Orb. After the ship had docked, Yzak, Talia, and Arthur disembarked from the _Minerva_ with Athrun and Cagalli when suddenly, someone had called out to Cagalli and the same person ran up to wrap her in a hug.

The man who had done so was dressed in the same uniform as Cagalli, was slightly taller than the blonde, and had blue hair that was tied back in a stupid ponytail. The man had started to go on and on about how worried he was for Cagalli, clearly ignorant of how uneasy he was making the Z.A.F.T. soldiers and Cagalli herself while Athrun simply glared daggers at him.

"Come now Yuna," a man who was also dressed in the same uniform as Cagalli and a pair of orange glasses said as he approached the two. "I know how you feel but this isn't the place. You're making the Z.A.F.T. crew members uncomfortable."

"Unato Ema," Cagalli called, happy to have Yuna finally off of her thanks to his father.

Unato and the other people who had come to greet their head of state and the two ships bowed respectfully to Cagalli before Unato said, "Welcome back Representative. I must say, it's a tremendous relief to all of us that you finally returned home safely."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for this crucial time," Cagalli quickly apologized. "Thank you for taking care of things while I was away. What kind of casualties and damage did we take?"

"Costal areas suffered damage from the waves, but fortunately Orb itself was spared a direct hit. I'll give you more details during the meeting later," Unato replied before he turned to the Z.A.F.T. soldiers.

Talia, Arthur, and Yzak all introduced themselves with a simple salute and Unato replied saying, "I am Unato Ema Seiran, prime minister of the Orb Union. We're most grateful for your efforts in making sure Representative Athha was returned safely."

"Thank you, but it was the least we could do. Though what happened was unexpected and unintentional, we very much regretted having to put Representative Athha through all that trouble. Furthermore, I'd like to express our deep condolences. A terrible tragedy indeed," Talia replied, just missing the mistrusting glances between some of the Orb politicians.

"Your kind words are appreciated," Unato told Talia. "In any case, I'm sure your people could use a rest. I know how hard it's been, so your crew must be very exhausted."

"Thank you for the offer sir," Talia nodded in appreciation.

Unato then turned to Cagalli as he suggested that they make their way to the meeting so that she could be informed of some urgent matters as soon as possible. Cagalli nodded in understanding and moved to follow Unato when suddenly she found herself being involuntarily guided along by Yuna. Yuna then turned to Athrun as he stated in a sarcastic and smug tone, "Oh and we're grateful for your steadfast and loyal service as well Alex. Thank you for keeping Cagalli safe. Well done. You can submit your report later, but right now you should get some rest. It's possible we might ask you to serve as an envoy between us and the PLANTs in the future."

"Fine," Athrun begrudgingly replied, knowing that he could not do anything to Yuna Roma Seiran for what he was doing, no matter how much he wanted to. Though it soon became clear that a certain Autobot scout had missed that memo as he rolled off the _Minerva_ with Ironhide, Bulkhead, Hound, and Wheeljack following from the _Xanthium_ shortly after, and then stormed over to the man with a stupid ponytail.

"Keep your hands to yourself Seiran. You're making the lady uncomfortable," Bumblebee warned.

Yuna only sneered at Bumblebee before he turned to Cagalli and said in a low voice, "Honestly, it still baffles me why you associate with these…_aliens_ like they're some sort of people."

Yuna was then hit in the back of the head hard by a large metal cigar, and he spun around to glare at Hound, who had flicked said cigar and simply replied to the glare in a sarcastic tone of his own saying, "Oops. My bad. I wasn't paying that much attention."

Yuna took a slow deep breath before he stated, "Accidents…happen."

Before anything else could be said, a loud siren was heard followed by a blaring horn as someone shouted, "Outta the way. Prime and his 'Bots comin' through."

Everyone then turned to see a parade of vehicles composed of a red and white ambulance, a white sports car, a red and blue truck, and a midnight blue motorcycle approaching the gathered crowd and stopping just between the Orb politicians and the two ships. The four vehicles then transformed to reveal the Autobots that Earth had to come to know as Chief Medical Officer Ratchet, First Lieutenant Jazz, Optimus Prime, and Arcee respectively. Optimus and Arcee threw a quick, subtle glare at Yuna which finally got him to put some distance between himself and Cagalli before they brought their full attention to the Autobots before them. Bumblebee stood at attention as he reported, "Optimus, sir. Autobot Scout Bumblebee reporting mission accomplished, despite some unexpected difficulties."

"At ease Autobots, and well done in your efforts on each of your respective missions. It is good to have you home," Optimus stated.

"Thank you Optimus, and there's someone here who needs to speak with you," Bumblebee said as he turned to the _Xanthium_.

At this point, Jazz finally asked, "Is that the ship that I think it is Bee?"

"See for yourself," Bumblebee smirked. A minute later, Sentinel, Smokescreen, Drift, and Evac all came off the _Xanthium_ and stood before Optimus and those who had come with him.

Once he and his men were standing before Optimus and his gathered Autobots, Sentinel said, "It seems you are doing quite well Orion Pax, or should I say Optimus Prime?"

Optimus was quick to stand at attention with the rest of his men, or at least those who had not yet met with the _Xanthium_ crew, as he said, "Welcome to Earth…Sentinel Prime."

When Yuna and his father heard what Optimus said they both mentally groaned as they thought, _Not another one. As if more Autobots weren't bad enough, now there's another Prime as well._

Sentinel waved to Optimus's men to stand at ease before he walked up to Optimus and gave him a warm hug in greeting which Optimus returned before asking, "So tell me old friend, where is the vessel that we'll be using to return to Cybertron?"

Optimus and the others all looked at Sentinel in confusion for a moment before they turned to Bumblebee who informed them, "I'm sorry sir, but from what I've seen, Sentinel and his men are all unaware of how much time has passed since they disappeared and of what has happened in their absence. I've told them that Zeta Prime and Megatron had both perished and that you were a Prime now Optimus, but I felt that everything else would be better coming from you."

"You made a wise decision Bumblebee," Optimus reassured his scout. He then turned to Sentinel's confused face as he somberly said, "It saddens my spark to tell you this my friend, but I am afraid that we cannot return to Cybertron. In your absence, our war with the Decepticons had brought about the greatest of casualties as our planet's very core had shut down. Cybertron is now a world without light or life."

"What…Cybertron is…no," Sentinel muttered in quiet shock as Optimus's team all lowered their helms in sadness. Though they knew this full well, it did not make it any easier to remember the fact that their homeworld was effectively dead, nor was it any easier to inform others of Cybertron's fate. "What about the Omega Lock? Surely it could've…," Sentinel then asked, clearly grasping at straws now.

"It was destroyed during Zeta Prime's final battle against Megatron," Optimus revealed sadly.

Sentinel felt himself suddenly losing his ability to stand for a moment before he recomposed himself and asked, "Please tell me everything that has happened since our disappearance Optimus. I need to know."

"Of course old friend, but I believe that it would be best if we did so back at the Autobot base we have established here in Orb with all of your men. I would much rather not have to tell the story any more times than necessary," Optimus replied. Sentinel nodded in agreement and was about to tell Drift to inform the rest of his senior officers when they were suddenly, and very rudely interrupted.

"Now just hold on a moment alien fre…I mean Optimus Prime," Yuna shouted indignantly. "You can't just allow these people in here like you own the place even if you do have a base here! That is not your…"

"That's enough Yuna," Cagalli interrupted, now more than simply annoyed with the man that she found infuriating, insufferable, and disgusting. "Sentinel Prime's forces are just as much to thank for the attempt to avert a disaster that Junius Seven would have caused as the _Minerva_ is as well as helping to ensure I returned home safely. Not only that, but they are Autobots, so they fall under Optimus's jurisdiction, but if you want to try and deny them the chance to reunite with their old friends that they thought they would never see again, and who Optimus's men had long thought dead, then what sort of message are we sending? That the Orb leaders are heartless beings that would refuse to allow people such simple things?"

Yuna knew that Cagalli had him backed into a corner with that, and that the girl had effectively given Sentinel and his crew permission to come with the Autobots, so he simply gave a begrudging nod to show that he understood and moved to walk to the car where his father was waiting for both him and Cagalli. Arcee was about to move to join them along with Cagalli when Bumblebee placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Hold up a second babe. There's someone here who you'll want to see first."

Arcee raised a questioning eyebrow to her boyfriend and was turning to ask him what he was talking about, when she gasped in shock at the sight of a familiar bluish-grey femme coming down the _Xanthium_'s boarding ramp. "Chromia? Is…is it really you," Arcee whispered timidly.

Chromia looked to the one who had asked and her optics widened as she asked, "Arcee? Little Cee is that you?"

Arcee's optics instantly lit up with joy as she shouted out happily, "Chromia!"

The two sisters instantly ran up to one and other and held each other in a tight, sisterly hug as they laughed with joy at finally being reunited while Arcee cried out, "I can't begin to tell you how many dreams I've had like this."

"I know Little Cee. I feel the same way, but this one's definitely real," Chromia replied as she finally released her sister to get a good look at her. "And just look at you! You've really grown up to become quite the attractive femme. Makes me wonder what happened to that little sparkling I used to tease."

"Oh yeah. That reminds me," Arcee stated. She then landed a light punch on Chromia's arm before she said, "I owed you that for quite a few cycles."

"I'm guessing part of that's because I made you think I was dead right," Chromia asked.

"Yep," Arcee replied.

"Oh come on! That is so not fair," Bumblebee complained. "She makes you think she's dead and all she gets is what's practically a slap on the wrist, but when I did that you gave me a hard right hook!"

"Sorry Bee, but she is family," Arcee replied casually.

Bumblebee just huffed and crossed his arms, clearly sending a message that he was not going to take that and just leave it there. Arcee knew what Bumblebee was doing though, and she immediately walked over and placed a small kiss on his cheek and asked, "Better tough guy?"

"…Might be," Bumblebee said.

Arcee just giggled a bit as she said, "You know, you're actually kind of cute when you get all huffy."

"Cee not in front of everyone," Bumblebee moaned.

"Ah let 'em look," Arcee retorted.

"No really, you probably shouldn't be doing that here, especially in front of your sister who is standing right there," Bumblebee reminded his girlfriend.

It was too little too late though as Chromia instantly went over and started gushing over how cute the two looked together, about how they would end up together forever, and a number of other things that made the Autobot couple really embarrassed. Arcee finally cut her sister off saying, "Well don't think you had anything to do with this, or that we only got together because of your little rumor that we were already a couple for years."

"Wait a minute that was you?! You really did do that," Bumblebee then cut in, pointing an accusing finger at Chromia as he did. Chromia's expression instantly turned sheepish which ended up being all the confirmation that Bumblebee needed to start planning his revenge on the femme. Older sister of his girlfriend or not, Chromia had to pay, and Bumblebee would not be denied his vengeance.

Eventually though, the sisterly reunion was broken up long enough for Optimus and Sentinel to gather the senior staff of the _Xanthium_ and then head for the Autobot base, Alpha I, while Arcee headed off with Cagalli to the Ministers' Official Residence, and Bumblebee drove Athrun home so the young man could rest before going to visit Kira and Lacus. The whole time, none of them realized that a certain group of three women and a man with a cane were watching from nearby.

As she and her friends looked on, Natarle Badgiruel commented, "Still, I can't help but wonder what their true intentions are."

Murrue Ramius, former captain of the _Archangel_, nodded in agreement with her former second in command as she stated, "Seiran has always favored the Atlantic Federation and it's no secret that he and his son have no love for any of the Transformers, including the Autobots. Even with Cagalli's return, given the present circumstances…"

"Yeah you're right," Andrew Waltfeld, the man formerly known as the Desert Tiger of Z.A.F.T., agreed. "And you can bet that what just happened is only gonna make a bad situation worse."

Waltfeld's lover, Aisha, could only sigh as she rested her head on Waltfeld's shoulder as she said, "Makes you wonder if Cagalli's plan to try to keep the ministers under control and from forsaking Orb's ideals really will work, or if we'll have to resort to _that_ operation."

"Only time will tell, but until then we really should be careful talking about that sort of thing. Even here," Natarle warned. Aisha knew that Natarle was right about that and quickly apologized for her misstep, but it did not stop any of them from wondering the same thing.

* * *

Cagalli was now mad, to put it mildly. Actually, she was beyond mad, she was furious. As it turned out, the urgent matters that Unato said that they should attend to was the revelation that the ministers were about to sign a new treaty that would make them allies with the Atlantic Federation, and when Cagalli argued that they should be focusing on sending immediate aid to the disaster zones, they revealed that the disaster that was caused by Junius Seven falling was why they were doing this. They claimed that it was a treaty that would unite all the nations of the world, even if it was originally drawn up by the Atlantic Federation, and it dealt with assisting in sending aide to the disaster zones, so they figured they should sign it so they could better coordinate their efforts.

When Cagalli continued to try and argue, Unato then decided to play one of his stronger cards. "Being onboard a Z.A.F.T. ship for an extended period, perhaps you haven't quite grasped the enormity of what actually took place down here," Unato argued with the young leader of Orb as he showed Cagalli some pictures of the disaster zones. "There are almost no words to describe the casualties Earth suffered. Then there's this."

When he said that he showed some images to Cagalli that made the blonde's eyes widen in shock. The images that were being displayed on her computer screen were of the rogue GINNs and their flare mortars on Junius Seven. "We, that is everyone living on Earth, have just learned about this," Unato revealed as the images finished displaying.

"Where did these images come from," Cagalli demanded.

"The information came from the Atlantic Federation," Yuna revealed in a factual tone. "However, the PLANTs have already acknowledged that this is more or less what actually transpired, but you already knew this, didn't you Representative?"

"Yes, but this was caused by a handful of terrorists. The PLANTs weren't involved. In fact, as soon as they realized what was happening, Chairman Durandal, the crew of the _Minerva_, and the even the crew of the _Xanthium_ did everything they possibly could to shatter the object. They actually saved Earth!"

"We understand that, but what do we say to the tens of millions of people who have been affected by this calamity," Yuna asked rhetorically, barely hiding his smug smile. "Do we say, 'Yes we know you're suffering terribly, but please forgive them because Earth was saved, and our alien friends who's war came to our world during our previous war and who's enemies allied with the PLANTs can actually vouch for them'?"

"Right now there isn't a single person on Earth who doesn't feel some kind of anger after viewing these pictures," Unato added in. "We're fortunate that Orb escaped any real damage, and that's all the more reason why we have to choose our next steps with utmost caution. Obviously ideals are important, but right now the question is with whom should our nation be sharing this grief? Even you need to consider this carefully Representative."

While the ministers all voiced some agreement in these statements, Cagalli simply clenched her fist in anger before she asked them, "So suddenly sharing in everyone's grief means joining the masses in calling out for revenge against an entire people for the crimes of what a handful did?" That caused all of the ministers to go silent. "Should we just sign this and allow the Atlantic Federation to use Orb's power and might to destroy the PLANTs just as they did Junius Seven with a nuclear missile in the last war? Is that what we should do?"

Everyone seemed to pause for a moment until Unato stated, "I suppose that you do make a valid point Representative, but there is still the fact that we can't take any steps without careful consideration. Though perhaps we should adjourn for today so that cooler heads may prevail another day and so everyone can think on what has been said here."

Everyone agreed with this sentiment and immediately dispersed as the meeting was called to a close. Once she was alone outside the building Cagalli let out a tired sigh of relief which was heard but her older sister figure as the blonde approached the midnight blue Autobot who was waiting for her in her motorcycle mode. "Rough day back," Arcee asked.

"Don't act like you didn't hear what was said in there," Cagalli lightly reprimanded.

If Arcee could, she would have raised her hands in mock surrender at that as Cagalli climbed on. "You still seemed to handle it pretty well in there. At least you didn't have to hear their direct assaults on the issue of, quote, unquote, 'harboring the dangerous, giant alien freaks'."

"Is that why they had closed off the meeting to you guys," Cagalli asked as Arcee began the trip back to Cagalli's home where the blonde would be dealing with the bane of a politician's existence, paper work.

"That and the fact that Optimus is actually meeting with Sentinel and his crew," Arcee replied. "To be honest, we've had to post someone on curbside duty just to know what they're talking about in there almost every day now. You and I both know how the Seirans feel about Optimus and the rest of us Autobots, and they'll use any excuse they can get to try and find a way to exile us from the planet, or at the very least from Orb."

"I won't let that happen," Cagalli stated determinedly.

"I know you'll do your best to keep it from happening, whether it is through plan A or plan B. I have faith in you little sister," Arcee reassured.

"Thanks big sister," Cagalli replied happily. The two just rode the rest of the way in silence before they reached Cagalli's home and the blonde then told Arcee that if she wanted to go and spend time with Chromia she could. Arcee was thankful for that, and as soon as she had made sure Cagalli was sure of what she offered she was off to Alpha I to meet up with the others, eager for a lot of catching up with her older sister.

* * *

During that time, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ had begun their full repairs as crews from both Orb and the two ships worked to get the ships back in working order. Naturally, Sentinel made sure that his Autobots were doing most of the work on his ship and insisted that the humans should not worry or try to accidentally hurt themselves trying to repair their ship, but Talia Gladys was more than happy to accept some help with her own vessel. "We should be fine if we leave the ship's hull in Morgenroete's hands, but I want your crew to take care of the internal repairs. They've offered us whatever equipment or materials we need, so focus on doing a perfect job," Talia told her chief engineer.

"Is this a good idea Captain," Arthur Trine asked. "There's nothing wrong with resupplying here, but personally I think we should hold off on the repairs until we get to Carpentaria."

"You may have a point about that, but we can't afford to have any problems should we find ourselves in another battle," Yzak told Trine.

"And you certainly don't want to sacrifice safety just to keep a military secret," a voice called out to them. The three then turned to see who Yzak knew to be Murrue Ramius and Murdoch from the _Archangel_, both dressed in work clothes for Morgenroete approaching them. "It can be pretty tough on a commander if a ship, especially a warship, isn't in top form at all times," Murrue finished from what she was saying before.

Arthur started to get a stupid look on his face as he stared at Murrue until Talia put a stop to that with a gentle push on his arm as she asked, "And you are?"

"I beg your pardon," Murrue apologized. "I'm Maria Burns. I work for ship building Division B. I'm the one in charge of your ship's work crew."

Talia accepted Murrue's offered handshake and replied, "I'm Captain Talia Gladys. It's a pleasure, and thank you for your efforts."

Murrue only nodded in acceptance of this while Yzak sent both her and Murdoch a small nod in greeting that the _Minerva_ commanders just missed. With that out of the way, the two women moved to have a more one-on-one conversation while they supervised the work done on Talia's ship.

* * *

Later that day, Athrun and Bumblebee were driving along to meet up with Kira and Lacus at the house where Murrue, Natarle, Waltfeld, and Aisha were all staying in. They had found out from Silverbolt that Kira and Lacus were staying with the four with Reverend Malchio, Kira's mother, and the kids that Kira and Lacus were taking care of after their beach house had been destroyed by one of the waves that resulted from the falling fragments. Part way there, Athrun saw Kira, Lacus, and the kids themselves on the beach and immediately alerted Bumblebee to this.

As soon as the scout had replied that he saw them, he pulled to a stop and honked his horn a few times to get their attention before he started his radio to play "The Boys Are Back in Town", which drove everyone's attention to where they were as Athrun climbed out. Instantly the kids all raced over to greet Athrun and Bumblebee as the latter transformed to his robot mode so he could give the kids a proper greeting with his usual, kind smile. "Athrun, Bumblebee," Kira called out happily over the kids' excited cheers.

"Welcome back you two," Lacus told them happily. "That was quite a little trip."

"You have no idea Lacus," Bumblebee replied with a smile.

"What about you guys? We heard your home was washed away and you're living here for now. Is everybody okay," Athrun then asked.

"Yeah our house is gone," one of the kids replied.

"We didn't see it, but this big wave came and smashed it," another kid added.

"Into little pieces," a third one then said, which led to all the kids adding something in until they were all chattering excitedly to Athrun.

"Oh my," Lacus sighed. "Settle down everybody. Just wait…I don't think we're going to get a word in."

Bumblebee then raised a finger to Lacus and Kira as he mouthed "I got this" and turned to the kids as he said, "Did you say a big wave smashed your house? Huh, now that's strange, because I could've sworn that I heard it was cannon fire." He then paused to look around for a moment before placing a hand to the side of his mouth as he finished in a stage whisper, "from a Decepticon ship."

All the kids gasped as one of them shouted, "You're right Bumblebee. It's Starscream and the Decepticons!"

"Oh no! If Starscream is behind this great evil deed then that means that there may still be Decepticons nearby," Bumblebee said in an over-exaggerated tone that he always used when he was playing some games with the kids. "And Optimus Prime and the other Autobots are too caught up in other missions and matters to help! What should we do?"

"We can go and get those evil old bad guys," one of the kids exclaimed excitedly, and the others instantly agreed.

"Yes, good idea young sparkling, but this is no small matter. The Decepticons may be expecting anything, are you all sure you can handle it?" At the kids' excited cheers in reply, Bumblebee stood up and then said, "Alright then young Autobot cadets, follow Lieutenant Lacus back to the beach to scout ahead for any clues that could lead to so much as a Decepticon Vehicon. I will join you shortly after I have discussed a plan of attack with Commanders Kira and Athrun."

"Yes sir Commander Bumblebee," the kids all replied.

"Autobots, transform and roll out!" The minute Bumblebee gave that iconic order to the kids, they all followed Lacus back down to the beach, who mouthed a thank you to Bumblebee as she went.

Kira simply chuckled to his best Autobot friend as he watched them go saying, "I can't help but wonder how you do it sometimes Bee. Makes me think that whenever Arcee sees you playing with those kids she thinks that you'll make a good father someday."

"Heh, well I guess that the same could be said in relation to you and Lacus, Kira. After all you two are the ones looking out for them. Are you sure you didn't go and get married to each other while we weren't looking and suddenly decided to adopt all of them," Bumblebee teased back.

The three boys laughed at that as Bumblebee transformed back into vehicle mode and Birdie flew over to Kira's shoulder before Athrun and Kira climbed into the scout's vehicle mode. "Where's Cagalli and Arcee anyway," Kira asked.

"Cagalli was at a meeting and then had to head home to deal with some paper work. She's got a lot to catch up on," Athrun replied.

"And Arcee was with her throughout both. Said something about needing to be on curbside duty at the Ministers' Residence so that we know what's going on in there since the Autobots have been effectively shut completely out of all discussions involved," Bumblebee added.

At hearing Lacus tell them to go on ahead and that she would come back later with the kids, Kira, Athrun, and Bumblebee headed off to the home of the former commanders of the Four Ships Alliance as they discussed what had happened at Junius Seven. During the drive over, the three revealed to one and other about the fact that everyone had found out by now of what had really happened with Junius Seven and the fact that Athrun had gone out to help with Junius Seven when he ended up fighting with them along with Bumblebee and the Autobots. When they finally pulled up to the house, Athrun asked, "Kira, remember what I asked you that time we were both here in Orb?"

Kira nodded with an affirmative yes in reply, and that prompted Athrun to continue, "I asked what should we really be fighting against and how are we supposed to do it? Then you said we'd look for the answer to that question together, alongside our friends and the Autobots."

Kira remembered that all too well and simply nodded in reply to that as Athrun continued. "But I still haven't found the answer."

Kira knew that Athrun was really struggling with himself and what had happened recently and in his past, but there really was not anything he could say or do for his childhood friend except give him a small pat on the shoulder to reassure him. Luckily, Bumblebee had a bit of an idea. "I'm not sure any of us really knows that answer Athrun, but that just means we can't give up looking yet. No matter what happens I'm sure we'll all do whatever we can to deal whatever is coming our way."

Kira and Athrun both nodded to Bumblebee in reply at this, and they both thanked the scout for what he said before they climbed out to head inside for dinner before Athrun returned back to the Athha estate for the night.

* * *

Early the next morning, Kira, Athrun, and Cagalli were all meeting with Optimus and his team of Autobots in Alpha I to talk about everything that had been going on recently, including Orb's position at the moment given what had recently taken place. Needless to say, it was a moment that allowed Cagalli to do some much needed venting as she ranted on about the other ministers and their messed up way of thinking. "I understand what they're saying, but the Seirans are basically asking us to give up everything that makes our nation what it is and join the masses in either crying out for revenge or hating the PLANTs. Not to mention that Yuna's recent bit of clinginess has gotten to unbearable levels," Cagalli ranted on.

"I was under the impression that direct physical contact with him was already bad for your health since he could kill you if he held on for too long," Wheeljack stated.

"You've really gotta lay off those _X-Men_ movies Wheeljack," Air Raid told the Wrecker.

"Oh like your one to talk Mister _Iron Man_ fan-'Bot," Wheeljack retorted.

Hound then walked up to Cagalli as he readied one of his guns and asked, "Do you want me to vaporize his ass? I can make it look an accident."

"Hound you know that we do not harm humans," Optimus warned the tracker.

"What? Everybody's thinking it," Hound argued. Optimus simply stared at him silently for a moment before he turned away to ask Ratchet about something on his computers. Hound simply looked at everyone else in the room as he pointed out, "Note how he didn't actually deny it."

Cagalli, Athrun, and Kira all chuckled at that before Cagalli told them, "I do appreciate the thought Hound, but right now it's best if we don't do anything too hasty just yet. I still think that I can get the ministers to see reason."

"And if you can't," Elita asked.

"Well that's what _the backup plan_ is for," Cagalli replied with a knowing smile. Everyone nodded in acknowledgement of this when Athrun decided that there was something he needed to tell them all.

"I'm going to the PLANTs." Everyone looked at Athrun in shock at hearing this declaration, but Athrun stood his ground as he explained his reasoning, "I hate to leave Orb in this situation, but I don't think I can afford to sit around here and do nothing."

"Athrun are you sure you want to do that," Cagalli asked.

"Yeah, I mean we've still got some people keeping an eye on things in Z.A.F.T.," Kira reasoned.

"I know, but I'm still worried about what the PLANTs might do," Athrun replied. "With Chairman Durandal in charge I think they probably won't follow the worst path, but remember those guys used my father's name. I know that you said they might just be looking for an excuse to justify their actions Bumblebee, but I still feel like there are still people who're influenced by what he said and did, both because of his own choices and because of Megatron's influence. I have to see the Chairman, and I have to go if there's even a chance I can help whether it's as Athrun Zala or as Alex. If Earth and the PLANTs continue on this course and end up as enemies again, then what've we been working for all this time? It'll all be for nothing if that happens."

"You make a compelling case Athrun Zala, but are you certain that this is what you want to do? I know that you are still dealing with matters that haunt you from your world's previous war," Optimus asked.

"I'm sure about this Optimus," Athrun replied. With that, Cagalli nodded in acceptance of Athrun's decision along with the others which led Athrun to turn to the blonde as he said, "I know all about the deal between you and Roma, and that you're plan has something to deal with it, but that still doesn't mean I have to like that it's there."

Cagalli nodded in understanding when Athrun took her hand and slipped a small ring onto her finger. Cagalli was instantly flustered and unsure how to react, but she saw that Athrun was just as nervous and simply elected to hold him in a hug before the two shared a kiss. With everything now said and done, the meeting at Alpha I came to a close and Wheeljack drove Athrun off to a transport that would take him to the PLANTs.

* * *

That same day, Shinn had taken some time to take advantage of the shore leave that the _Minerva_ crew had been granted to walk about his old home, reminiscing about all the good times he and Mayu had spent there before they had to leave. As he did, he found himself thinking about all that had happened and about how his decision to protect everything seemed to be getting more and more difficult with each passing day. As he thought this, he could not help but wonder what would it take to make sure that everything and everyone was protected, and how could he do it. He continued to wonder about this when he found himself in the place where his whole life had been changed. The place where Bulkhead had saved his and his family's lives. The place had now been covered with a large tower and numerous flowers as a memorial for those that had died on Onogoro that day, and looked nothing like the battle ravaged land that Shinn had last seen it as.

As mused on about what might have happened had Bulkhead not been there and about everything else, Shinn suddenly noticed someone nearby and looked to see a man in an all black outfit with a robotic bird on his shoulder, gazing on at a small headstone on the cliff. Shinn immediately walked over and asked the man, who looked close to his age if not older, "Is it a memorial?"

"Yeah, looks like it, but I'm not that sure. See, it's my first time here myself. I always meant to make the effort." the man replied. He then glanced at the many beautiful flowers as he said, "The flowers are starting to bloom. Unfortunately they're going to wither in the spray from the breaking waves."

Shinn gazed on as he heard a woman singing close by as he wondered aloud, "Does it mean that they think they can't be fooled? Do they think that no matter how beautiful the flower people will just wipe them out? If that is the case, then shouldn't we do everything we can to keep them alive?"

The man glanced at Shinn in confusion as the woman who was singing finally stepped up to them to reveal a young woman with long pink hair wearing a blue dress. She paused in her singing when she saw the two and for a moment the only sound was that of the crashing waves, until Shinn finally said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything really. I was just thinking aloud."

Shinn then turned to leave as the two watched him go for a moment, wondering exactly what it was that was troubling the young pilot so much.

* * *

**_AN: So yeah, not a lot happened here action wise, and we're starting to see a bit more of the changes that have happened in the continuity. Shinn knows what he wants to do, but he's still having a hard time figuring out if it's really possible to accomplish, and Cagalli's really giving the ministers a bit more of a run around than before, plus it seems like she and the others have something else going on behind the scenes in case her efforts fail. More on all that later. For now, onto the preview!..._**

**_The dangers that threaten Earth are now given full form, as the forces of Earth begin joint efforts in launching a war against the PLANTs. Despite their best efforts, it seems that there is little the Autobots, Cagalli, or Athrun can do to avert this, but is there really nothing that any of them can do? What is it that will drive Athrun as he begins to ponder over a new decision that he quickly comes to face? Will things spiral so far out of control that no one can stop it, or will someone have some other secret moves up their sleeve? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 6: Darkness in Motion****_. Autobots, Gundam, do what you can against the rising evils!_**

**_Please read and review and I'll see you next time!_**


	6. Darkness in Motion

_**AN: And we are back for more! That's right Chapter 6 is here! And we are ready to get rolling!**_

**_Chromia: Shouldn't we answer some reviews or something?_**

**_AN: Nope. Not this time, all I can say in response to the reviews to chapter 5 is glad you all enjoyed it so much, and some things from the last chapter will be explained briefly here, and also somethings may disappoint you as well, but that's just how it has to be in order for the story to fully progress._**

**_Bumblebee: What about some of those guest reviews?_**

**_AN: You mean all the ones that keep asking who is or isn't going to appear. Well there's only one thing that I can say to them. Stop sending those reviews, they will get deleted. You will find out who will or won't be in the story as they appear. So in answer to the oh-so-important questions, will Starscream and the Decepticons appear, yes that is a given! You can't really do much of a Transformers story without the Decepticons. Well I guess you can, but most times they end up weird. Most times, not all the time. Will Galvatron appear, well you'll just have to wait and see on that one._**

**_Chromia: Okay okay, don't get a cow._**

**_Shinn: What's the harm in telling them that LOGOS will actually..._**

**_AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]_**

**_Shinn: Ah seriously?! [Gets hit by a barrage of flying pies with an irons in them]_**

**_Chromia:...Really?_**

**_AN: What? That's all we had time to set up for today. Moving on to the chapter now._**

**_I do not own anything from either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Darkness in Motion**

The morning after Athrun had left for the PLANTs, Cagalli had rushed Arcee to Autobot headquarters looking extremely worried. Arcee knew for a fact it had something to do with something she had heard in her last meeting before she came home last night, but the blonde had insisted that she talk with all the Autobots about it at once. The moment they arrived, they found Ironhide peeking out from behind a door looking around as he asked, "Is she gone?"

"That depends, are you asking because you intend to break my best friend's heart again," Elita asked the weapons specialist in an irritated tone. She had been rather cold towards Ironhide after she found out that Ironhide was the ex-boyfriend that Chromia used to rant and cry about years ago, and needless to say, Ironhide was surprised he was still functioning since now he had both of the two scariest female Autobots mad at him.

"I keep telling you guys it was NOT like that," Ironhide insisted as he stepped out from his hiding place. The _Xanthium_ Autobots had been visiting Alpha I ever since they were shown the base and met the other members of Optimus's team, and needless to say, Ironhide almost always seemed to be able to tell when Chromia was coming and somehow find a way to make sure that he was either very well hidden from his ex, or had a "very important mission" at that time.

"Right. Says the 'Bot who broke up with her over a comm. link call," Bumblebee retorted.

"Incredible," Optimus gasped in what could only be described as genuine shock as his optics widened. Probably one of the few times that Optimus showed an open display of emotion.

"Really," Jetfire added.

"I was extremely busy with my job at the time, I couldn't get time off to talk face to face, a-and most of the talks we had been having at that point ended up as arguments," Ironhide tried to defend himself.

Cagalli dismounted Arcee so the femme could transform to walk up to him and say, "As I recall, most of those arguments stemmed from the fact that you made her pay for a lot of your dates."

"Seriously, what is wrong with you Ironhide," Wing Saber chided, getting all the Autobots to look at Ironhide with expressions that were asking the same question.

"Hey, hey! When did I become the Decepticon here?! I'm not the only guilty party in that you know," Ironhide demanded as he raised his hands in mock surrender.

"The fact that Chromia was crying into her pillow for a few weeks when she was alone and then using some of her battles to help her vent her anger at you would say otherwise," Arcee argued.

"Okay since we're not going to get to the important matters I needed to talk to you guys about any time soon, what's the deal with Ironhide and Chromia anyway? And don't just leave it at ex-girlfriend this time," Cagalli demanded.

"Remember when you guys once asked me if Optimus and I were childhood sweethearts from school," Elita asked. "Well that was actually true in the case of Ironhide and Chromia. They were what you humans would call the 'it' couple back in those days, and they were always happy together."

"Until sometime after the four of them all finished school and things started going downhill. A lot of their conversations turned into fights and someone seemed to get to be more interested in his work for the Elite Guard than his own girlfriend," Arcee added on. "Finally, it all came to a head and I found out after the fact when I came home from school one day and found Chromia crying her optics out. I couldn't get her to tell me what happened with her sobbing so much so I ended up comm. linking Bumblebee to help me figure out what was wrong."

"When I got there, I was the one who ended up finding the comm. link message that Ironhide had left for Chromia saying that he was ending things between them and everything just made sense after that. Me and Arcee must've spent weeks helping Chromia get it back together, but I think that her helping Elita with her relationship with Optimus was probably just as big a help," Bumblebee finished.

Now it was Cagalli's turn to throw a glare at Ironhide to ask the same question that Wing Saber had just voiced earlier before she returned everyone's attention to what she needed to tell them. "We've got bigger problems than Ironhide's messed up skills in courting a lady," Cagalli stated factually, and getting an indignant "Hey!" from Ironhide which she ignored. "The Atlantic Federation, Eurasia, and the rest of the alliance have released a joint statement saying that they want the PLANTs to respond to a list of demands. If the PLANTs refuse they'll be considered a hostile enemy state and a threat to humanity."

"What?! That can't be! There must be some mistake," Ratchet shouted.

"There's no mistake Ratchet. Unato told me this himself just last night, and he also told me that the alliance was warning the PLANTs that they would do whatever it takes, including the use of force to 'eliminate the threat'."

"Surely the ministers can't still be considering joining this alliance after hearing about this," Silverbolt reasoned.

"You would think so Silverbolt, but that's not the case. Unato and Yuna are still pushing for us to go ahead with signing the agreement for Orb to join the alliance, and a majority of the ministers are still siding with them," Cagalli told him sadly.

"Do not give up hope just yet Cagalli. I am certain that you will be able to lead them away from this path one way or the other, so do not doubt yourself ever. You are and always will be the true leader of Orb," Optimus told the young politician. Cagalli smiled at Optimus in thanks for his words and then left with Arcee to head for the next few excruciating hours of the meeting with the ministers.

"Still, I can't help but wonder what those demands must be," Jazz then asked.

* * *

"They are simply unacceptable! In fact they're ridiculous! How can I phrase our response so they'll understand that," a plant chairman stated in the supreme council meeting that had been called to session on the very demands that Cagalli was just informing the Autobots about.

"I doubt what you say will make any difference at all. It sounds like they don't even care what our response will be," Durandal heard one of his colleagues say in response to the first question.

"What is this nonsense about arresting the terrorists and handing them over? The Atlantic Federation still refuses to accept the investigative report we've provided saying the terrorists are dead," a female council member added.

"I'm more concerned about these outrageous demands for reparations. Disarmament, disillusion of our current administration, a-and what's this? Alliance observers on the supreme council?! Are they serious, these terms are absolutely insane," another member stated as he read off the list of demands heatedly.

"It's obvious they don't expect us to accept these demands," the second person who had spoken stated. "This is just an excuse put together by people who are looking for a reason to justify attacking the PLANTs. They say we're enemies of Earth, the monsters from space, and they are going so far as to say that we're sympathizing with the 'large metal alien freaks' simply because we monsters stick together."

"Just the same, these demands don't make any sense, and how could they say such awful things about the Transformers when the first sighting of any bad ones in years had been when the Eradicons had attacked Armory One," the female council member pointed out. "Does the alliance really want to stay this course and open hostilities with us and the Autobots alongside Lockdown and his Eradicons? If they do, then they'll be the aggressors."

"I think it's pretty clear they'll attack if we don't submit."

"Their lunar forces were unharmed, and because the areas hardest hit were along the Equator, that means the Atlantic Federation and Eurasia are as healthy as ever," the third person to speak stated.

This argument continued on as everyone pointed out about how the two forces' economies would boom and give the people someone to rally behind despite the fact that the people of the PLANTs would do the same until finally Durandal shouted over the din, "Councilors please calm down! I understand how you feel, but countering in a like manner will only repeat past mistakes. We must continue to pursue a peaceful solution through diplomatic means, no matter what the alliance says. Any less and we would be doing a grave injustice to those who were sacrificed in the last war, be they human or Cybertronian."

Everyone had to agree with what the chairman was saying, but someone still had to point out one major detail. "But there are numerous signs the Earth Forces Lunar Base is already mobilizing. Ideals are all well and good, but as matters stand we're already at level red. Naturally we should be getting ready to intercept their forces."

Durandal had to pause for a moment before he finally responded saying, "Deploying the military will cause great concern among our citizens, and it will further incite the Earth Forces to attack…but we cannot help ourselves. We all fear a pair of old ghosts. The memories of Bloody Valentine and Megatron of the Decepticons are still with us. I want the defense committee to take care of the defensive measures, but at the same time we will make every effort to try and resolve this issue through diplomatic means. Should hostilities break out between ourselves and the Earth Forces then we will be playing directly into the hands of the ghosts who dropped Junius Seven while unknowingly continuing Megatron's horrendous plans. I beseech you all; do not forget what is at stake here."

With that said, the meeting came to a close and everyone began to disperse as one of Durandal's aides came up to him and whispered, "Sir, Alex Dino from Orb is here acting as an envoy for Representative Athha and is requesting an urgent meeting with you."

Durandal nodded with a small smile as he said, "Let him know that it may be some time, but I will meet with him as soon as I can."

* * *

What had followed a few hours later was a battle between the gathered defense forces of Z.A.F.T. and the new Earth Forces, and among the Z.A.F.T. pilots were Nicol and Shiho as they too fought back against the people who were blatantly disregarding every attempt their homeland made for a peaceful resolution, in a battle that would truly determine just whether or not they were at war. Needless to say, the battle ran for a relatively short amount of time, all things considered, and when Z.A.F.T. used a special weapon that Sentinel Prime had helped to develop for them which he had dubbed a Energon Enforcement Stampeder to wipe out all of the opposing forces that came at them with Energon Reactor Core weapons, the Earth Forces that remained had quickly turned back in a full scale retreat. As this was going on Athrun had been patiently waiting for his meeting with Durandal when he decided that he needed to go wash his face for a minute.

As he looked up from the sink at his reflection in the mirror, Athrun could see that under all his efforts to make himself presentable, he was a mess. He could tell that his eyes held a haunted look in them, and more than that he could just make out the distinctive bags under his eyes that could only be the result of when one had not been sleeping as much as they should have been. The truth was, Athrun actually found that lately, he could not sleep all that well at all, because the few times when he did, he would always wake up screaming from nightmares. He had told Cagalli about this, naturally, it would be hard to hide it from her since they were living in the same home even if the Athha estate was very large, but aside from her no one else knew, and Athrun was beginning to wonder if he would ever be able to sleep peacefully again.

Athrun quickly shook himself out of these thoughts, knowing that now was neither the time nor the place to be worrying about that and quickly left to go back to where he was waiting for Durandal. As he was walking there though, he heard a familiar voice speaking that he knew could only belong to one person, but the question was how could she even be here right now? Athrun quickly looked around and saw the speaker standing a short ways away from him, and her unmistakable long, pink hair as he gasped, "Lacus?"

The woman turned to face him and instantly brightened up as she ran over to grab him in a tight hug as she exclaimed, "I'm so happy Athrun! You came all that way just to see me."

As the girl moved back a bit, Athrun could now clearly tell that this person, whoever she was, clearly was not Lacus. For one thing, she was far too cheery and clingy even for Lacus, the look in her eyes was far different from the joyful look Athrun knew that Lacus's eyes normally possessed, the hair ornament she was wearing was also different, and then there was the fact that the real Lacus would not be caught dead wearing the kind of outfit that this person was wearing. Before Athrun could question the girl, a pair of men led the fake Lacus away for some important matter or something.

Athrun watched them go wondering what was going on when he heard Durandal's voice calling out, "Alex." Athrun then turned to see the chairman himself walking up to him. "That's right; I'm supposed to have a meeting with you. My sincerest apologies. It was not my intention to keep you waiting for this long."

"Uh…that's okay," Athrun reassured the chairman as he continued to ponder who that girl he just met was.

"Is something wrong," Durandal asked.

"No, no nothing's wrong," Athrun replied. With that said, Durandal simply smiled and led Athrun to his office, a room that Athrun was all-too-familiar with from when his father was using the same office.

Durandal then went on to tell Athrun of the attack that had just been launched, and Athrun could not believe what he was hearing. A thought he voiced as he softly said, "That's just…unbelievable."

"I'd like to think that myself," Durandal told Athrun sadly. "A bad dream, but it really did happen."

With that, Durandal tapped a control that brought up a news report that was currently playing which covered the events that had happened during the battle and how Z.A.F.T. was fortunate enough to thwart the attack before it was too late, but the one thing that stuck out to Athrun was when the report stated that the Earth Alliance had officially declared war on the PLANTs. "Make yourself comfortable and sit down Alex," Durandal offered as he took a seat. "It's over for now at least. Just relax."

Athrun nodded in acceptance as he too sat down on one of the sofas in Durandal's office, just across from the man himself. "Although it's true their attack wasn't completely unexpected, it was still a great shock to me," Durandal told Athrun. "They forced a declaration of war, and then went straight to the Energon Reactor option, which may as well be a nuclear option. The way they went about declaring war was unusual enough to begin with, but to follow with something so…this is no ordinary war we're facing."

"True," Athrun agreed.

"The Alliance may have withdrawn their forces for now, but I can't see them abandoning their plans just yet. In contrast, our side is in a state of near panic. Though we were able to defend ourselves, the fact remains that Energon Reactor weapons were used against us once again. Our problems have only begun."

Athrun was quiet for a moment before he finally asked, "What about the PLANTs? They attacked you. They declared war on you. What steps…what do the PLANTs intend to do to deal with this situation?"

Durandal then paused to consider what Athrun was asking for a moment before he finally replied, "If we retaliate for their attack on us, then the world will once more sink into the quagmire of war. Of that I have no doubt. Needless to say I wish to avoid that at all costs, but there's no denying how grave the situation is. If they knew the full details the people would rage in anger. They'd want vengeance, so how should we proceed? The clock is counting down, just as it did in the previous war, but how can we bring the process to a halt? The fact is this isn't the first time they've attacked us with Energon Reactor missiles."

Athrun clenched his fists before he looked at Durandal and said, "Mister Chairman, I know what you're saying, but please reconsider. Fighting is not the answer. We can't let anger and hatred control us. If we attack each other now, the world will become a battlefield once again. Nothing will be gained, and all will be lost. Please, you can't let that happen."

"Alex," Durandal started to say.

"My name…my name is Athrun Zala. I'm the son of Patrick Zala, a man who fanned the flames of a war that spiraled out of control, and poisoned the whole world with his hatred, and allowed himself to fall for the dark methods of a being who was worse than the devil itself. I believed what my father said, I fought in the war, I killed the enemy, I fought my best friend, I practically helped invite the Decepticons into the PLANTs, and even when I realized how wrong it was I couldn't stop him. Then I lost everything, and yet my father's words still linger along with Megatron's horrible influence. We must never repeat that tragedy, never again!"

"Athrun," Durandal half shouted, finally snapping Athrun out of his rant. The chairman then stood up as he walked around to Athrun as he told the poor man, "I know what the criminals at Junius Seven said. Sentinel told me all about it, and to hear that must've been difficult for you."

"No not really. It's better that I know the truth, otherwise I'd be blind to what's really happening again," Athrun admitted sadly.

"Don't blame yourself Athrun. You're wrong. You aren't responsible for their actions," Durandal reassured Athrun. "It's sad that the memory of your father pains you, that it's such a source of great bitterness for you, but I suppose it really can't be helped. And yet, Chairman Zala probably wasn't that kind of person to begin with, was he?"

"No, he wasn't," Athrun replied.

"In his capacity as chairman, there's no doubt he made his share of grave mistakes, one of the greatest being to ever think he could've trusted Megatron and his forces. However his primary goal was to protect the PLANTs, to protect us and to make a better world for his people. The best intentions of great men can often lead them to make great mistakes, and in addition statements by such men can easily be taken out of context by certain people. Listeners with an agenda can interpret these words to suit their own purpose. The criminals who dropped Junius Seven had no way to vent their feelings of frustration and anger, so they used Chairman Zala's words as an excuse, without knowing that many of his words had soon become influence by Megatron. They said, 'we're doing the right thing. Why is that, because Chairman Zala said so himself.' Keep that in mind, you mustn't let something like this control your emotions. You are you, the terrorists were the terrorists, and the Chairman was the chairman. Whose son you are is irrelevant. Don't let something like this drag you down, because all of this has nothing to do with who you are."

Athrun looked at Durandal for a moment before he gave a small chuckle. At Durandal's confused look Athrun told him, "I'm sorry Chairman; I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that what you just said was actually pretty similar to something a friend of mine said just a short while ago."

Durandal smiled at this and asked, "Was this friend one of the Autobots?"

"Yes. It was Bumblebee actually," Athrun confirmed as he stood up.

"I see. You know it amazes me that despite the fact everyone says he's the youngest of Optimus Prime's men Bumblebee still seems to be quite wise. Then again I often forget that the life cycles of the Transformers are much longer than those of humans." Durandal then approached Athrun as he said, "You are an individual Athrun, and you came here because you just want to help. You want to stop war from starting. Just keep that in mind, and stop holding yourself responsible for all this."

Athrun could not acknowledge the words Durandal said this time, as he found himself with even more to think about now, until Durandal stated, "But I must say I am glad you came up here Athrun. All the people who feel the way you do will be the ones who save the world. Some people might call me a dreamer but I very much believe it to be true. After all, wasn't it a dreamer and that dreamer's beliefs that became the very reason that the Autobots were formed in the first place? If they could do so much believing in that dream then who's to say that others can't as well?"

Athrun nodded in agreement with the Chairman, when suddenly the news report was interrupted and Athrun turned to see the same girl he saw earlier had appeared on screen, claiming to be Lacus Clyne. She then went on to give a speech meant to calm the people of the PLANTs and encourage them to not lose faith in the chairman and the supreme council, and the whole time it sounded almost like something that Lacus would say, but Athrun could tell that this all seemed rather rehearsed. "You can laugh if you want to," Durandal then told him, bringing Athrun out of his thoughts. "I'm sure you know what's going on. I'll freely admit this ploy carries a hint of deceit, but I had no choice. Her power to influence others is tremendous. It surpasses mine, obviously, and I believe that somehow it is equal to that of say Optimus Prime's."

Durandal paused as he turned to face Athrun again once more as he continued saying, "I could end up looking foolish, but right now I have need of her strengths, just as I have an urgent need for your own unique strengths and talents."

"My strengths," Athrun asked in confusion.

"Let's go for a walk shall we," Durandal then offered.

* * *

It turned out that the walk that Athrun and Durandal went on had led them to a mobile suit hangar that housed a massive, Gundam type mobile suit that was called the ZGMF-X23S Savior. "Though it has different capabilities, this machine was developed simultaneously with the Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss," Durandal told Athrun. "If I said I wanted to entrust this machine to you, what would you do?"

Athrun glanced at the chairman and asked, "What are you implying? Are you asking me to return to Z.A.F.T.?"

Durandal hummed for a minute before he clarified, "That's not really what I meant. I want to give you this machine. Although from an official standpoint it would appear as you say. My version of Lacus Clyne made my feelings about what's happened lately very clear. However our society requires finesse. The thoughts of opponents, advisors, and organizations get tangled up, making it difficult to get anything done. That's why I want those who believe as I do to stand firm with me. If at all possible I wish to avoid a war, but that doesn't mean that I'm willing to sit back unarmed and wait quietly to be destroyed. If push comes to shove, I feel it would be in our best interest if you had power, real power."

"Chairman," Athrun tried to say, but Durandal gestured for him to wait a moment as he continued.

"You've experienced the last war, and I know how you've agonized over your father's actions and your friend Dreadwing's demise, but I'm confident that come-what-may you won't choose the wrong path. Should we end up taking a wrong turn I'm counting on you to steer us right; however, to do that you will need power, unfortunately." Seeing Athrun's unsure look Durandal quickly added, "This is quite simple. I don't expect you to make a decision right this moment, but still there's what you can do, and what you want to do. After all, those are things nobody knows better than you."

With that said, Durandal then moved to leave with Athrun following behind him a few moments later. As he went after the chairman, Athrun pondered the words of the man who led him to this new mobile suit and began to wonder would it be best if he were to return to Z.A.F.T., and to the battlefield. To be honest that was something Athrun had been wondering for some time now for multiple reasons, but now he found that he was wondering if it would be good for him to go back to Z.A.F.T., for each of those reasons.

* * *

A couple of days passed, and the situation in Orb was not improving from what it was when Athrun had left. Cagalli was doing here utmost to try and sway the other ministers to not agree to sign the treaty with the alliance, going so far as to point out that they were all being selfish and saying that it was alright to allow other countries to burn as long as theirs did not, but no matter what Cagalli would say it was like the Seirans would have something to argue against it. In the end, the votes of the other ministers overruled Cagalli's veto power, and it began to seem that Orb would side with the Alliance after all, but the problems did not stop there.

From then on, the ministers had begun questioning the wisdom of continuing to allow Optimus and his team, or even any Autobots to remain in Orb, as the alliance was now appearing to be taking a stand against allying themselves with any of the Transformers, save for Lockdown and his Eradicons but that was merely rumors at this point. Whether or not the rumors of the Alliance's connections to the Eradicons was true did not matter at this point, as it allowed all the Orb ministers who stood against allowing the Autobots to remain in their nation to finally speak out without fear of reprimand from anyone. Some even went so far as to say that they should simply destroy the Autobot base, Alpha I, while the Autobots were all still in it, but Cagalli was able to get them to hold off on any plans involving the Autobots, at least for a little longer thankfully.

Even though the treaty between Orb and the Alliance had not been signed yet, it still meant that the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ would be in more danger than anyone else at the moment, which was what led Waltfeld to begin making their group's move and contact the Z.A.F.T. ship on an old radio of his. "_Minerva_, do you copy? You can't wait any longer. Z.A.F.T. are going to begin a drop to send down forces from orbit any time now," Waltfeld called out, hoping to get a response. "When that happens, Orb's going to change its position. A ship surrounded by black ships will flip and become black itself. You have to escape before that happens. Do you copy _Minerva_?"

After waiting for a moment and repeating his message a few times, Waltfeld received a reply. _"This is Talia Gladys, Captain of the _Minerva_. Who am I speaking to? What are you talking about?"_

"Oh. Well hello, hello. Glad to hear a voice out there. Nice to meet you," Waltfeld smiled. "It's just like I told ya. If ya don't get moving you're gonna be in all kinds of trouble."

_"__What kind of a soldier would I be if I took the advice of an anonymous voice on the radio? Who are you, and why are you telling us this?"_

Waltfeld paused only for a moment before he casually replied, "Have you ever heard the name Andrew Waltfeld before? I'm giving you this message on his behalf."

At that point, he could hear someone giggling behind him, and Waltfeld turned to see that Murrue, Natarle, and Aisha were all giggling in an attempt to suppress their laughter at what he had just said. Waltfeld threw the three women a mildly annoyed glare before he turned his attention back to the radio to say, "In any case, I've given you the warning. Once the drop begins, it's likely Orb's going to ram through a motion to join the Atlantic Federation's alliance, despite Representative Athha's best efforts. It's your choice if you want to stay and risk it. Your decision Captain. I wish you the best of luck."

With everything having been said, Waltfeld cut the communication and placed the headset he was using on the desk in front of him. He then turned to the three women and Kira, who had just entered the room a moment ago as he stated, "Now all we can do is wait to see what happens."

The other four nodded as Kira added, "Let's just hope that Cagalli won't wait for too long before giving us the signal, because it's now a certainty that we'll have to go to _the backup plan_."

* * *

Later that same day, the _Minerva_ was preparing to head out with the _Xanthium_. Sentinel had tried to insist that Optimus and his team come with them, but Optimus had politely refused saying that his team were needed where they were right now more. Sentinel accepted this and after the _Xanthium_ crew members who had someone to say goodbye to had said those goodbyes, they all returned to their ship to begin final preparations before heading out. During this time, the _Minerva_ was doing the same along with her pilots when Cagalli arrived to personally see the ship off.

When she came across the now five pilots of the _Minerva_, Cagalli could not help but freeze under their gaze until Shinn broke the silence asking, "You sure you should be here right now given the circumstances Lady Cagalli?" When Cagalli looked to meet Shinn's gaze, the pilot of the Impulse immediately became serious as he asked, "What the hell happened in there anyways? I thought for sure you could keep the other ministers from doing something as foolish as siding with people who burned our nation to the ground."

"Believe me Shinn; I tried my best, but…" Cagalli tried to say something in reply, but whatever it was died in her throat and she could no longer think of anything to say.

Shinn just sighed and revealed that Cagalli did not need to say anything as he told her, "These are messed up times right now, so I suppose that it's only natural for this kind of thing to happen. I won't try to act like there's a chance that we won't end up in a battle against Orb in the future, but I will promise you this. If we do end up fighting against Orb as its enemy, then I'll do everything I can to make sure that both sides are protected, and that Orb will escape as unscathed as possible."

Cagalli nodded in thanks to Shinn, and he and his friends all saluted Cagalli before they headed to the briefing room. Yzak and Dearka on the other hand paused for a moment so that Yzak could say, "This is why I got out of politics and back into a military uniform. It's a way more difficult battlefield than one with mobile suits. I know you'll figure some way out of this though Cagalli."

"Thank you Yzak and you guys be careful out there," Cagalli told them.

Yzak and Dearka both saluted Cagalli before they themselves departed for the briefing room, with Dearka only looking back for a moment to say, "Say hi to Athrun, Kira, Lacus, and the others for us."

Cagalli nodded in reply before she suddenly remembered something and took off after the pilots. When she caught up to them, she reached into her pocket and held something out to Shinn as she explained, "A few big friends of mine asked me to give you these before you left."

Shinn accepted the items and saw that they were autographed photos of each of the Autobots that first came to Earth in the last war, one set for both him and his sister. Shinn immediately thanked Cagalli for this and they all went their separate ways from there.

* * *

In no time at all, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ had made it out of Orb waters, but when they had passed the border, they found a nasty surprise waiting for them. There on the other side of the Orb border was a fleet of Earth Forces vessels waiting for them, and a minute later, they detected an Orb fleet forming behind them, clearly sending the message that neither one of the ships were welcome back in Orb any longer. Knowing that complaining about the situation would do none of them any good, Talia immediately ordered all hands on the _Minerva_ to go to condition red and prepare for battle.

Sentinel was about to order the same when Blur suddenly reported, "Sir, unknown ship detected alongside the Earth Forces fleet. Markings indicate that it may possibly be Eradicons, but I can't be entirely sure since it's so much smaller than the _Tidal Wave_. Not that I mean that Lockdown's ship isn't probably nearby as well because it probably is, we're just not picking it up anywhere at all. Nowhere, nowhere, nowhere!"

Sentinel snarled when he saw the image of the supposed Eradicon ship appear on the main monitor, and immediately began giving out his own orders. "All hands to combat stations! Wreckers, head for the upper deck and defend the ship from there. Springer, Tracks, head out to provide support for the _Minerva_ mobile suit forces. Protectobots, combine into Defensor and be ready to engage the enemy alongside the Impulse, your main objective will be to keep the Gundam safe. Smokescreen, Drift, and Mirage, move to the weapons control center and ready the ship's manual control guns for action."

"Sir if we do all that, then the only ones that will be left on the bridge will be you, Blur, Blaster, and myself, and Kup will be needed down in sickbay to treat any injured," Chromia interjected.

"I'm aware of that First Commander," Sentinel told his second in command. He then turned to Blaster as he stated, "Blaster, fill the necessary positions on the bridge."

"Roger Sentinel, that's a big can-do. You just leave it Blaster and his crew," Blaster rapped as he tapped a control on his shoulder. A minute later, Blaster's own cassette Mini-Cons ejected from him like Soundwave's would from him. "Eject, man the helm little man. Rewind, tactical station's all yours for taking a stand."

"You've got it Boss," Eject and Rewind replied with a salute as they moved to said stations. A moment afterwards, Talia had announced the situation at hand to the _Minerva_ crew and given them some words of encouragement to ensure that they would not falter in the approaching battle.

When he heard of the situation, Shinn was shocked at the actions Orb was taking, but he was not about to let that stop him from doing his job. Just before he headed for the elevator that would take him up to the Core Splendor, Shinn looked to Lunamaria and said, "Be careful out there Luna."

Lunamaria just smiled at her friend before replying, "That goes for you too Shinn. Don't get too reckless out there."

"Hey it's me remember," Shinn reminded her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know. That's why I said it," Lunamaria retorted before she climbed into her Zaku. Not a minute later, the Force Impulse had deployed from the _Minerva_, with the four Zakus taking up positions on the deck of the Z.A.F.T. ship.

"Don't fall into the water Lunamaria. I won't be able to catch you if you do," Rey warned the female pilot as he brought his Zaku to its position on the _Minerva_'s deck.

"What a sourpuss," Lunamaria muttered as she did the same.

"Yeah. It's almost like having a second, more level-headed version of Yzak," Dearka chuckled.

"I heard that Dearka," Yzak snapped at his friend.

It was barely a minute after everyone had scrambled to their positions when the enemy came at them, and it turned out that Blur was right in saying that the Eradicons were among the enemy forces, as evidenced by the number of Eradicon drones that were flying towards the Impulse and Defensor right that very second. Another group was quick to engage the _Xanthium_, but they found themselves facing a barrage of fire from Scattershot and Crosshairs, while Drift sliced apart any that got too close with his swords. When some Windams and drones tried to make a run at the _Minerva_, Luna and Dearka were able to shoot some down while Springer and Tracks swooped in with their aerial modes and blasted the ones they missed.

Yzak then spotted another group making a run at them and immediately had his Slash Zaku Phantom give a mighty leap as it readied its Beam Axe and cut apart multiple enemies in a pair of swings from the weapon. As he descended back down to the _Minerva_'s deck, he then fired his Gatling Beam Cannons at the ones his axe had missed and took them out of the sky. Any that were not hit by that attack were soon destroyed by a missile barrage from Rey's Blaze Zaku Phantom. Despite all these efforts though, it seemed that the enemy force would just not quit.

"Look how many there are," Lunamaria moaned as she spotted another massive group of Windams heading her way after she had just blasted another group down.

"This is nuts. It's like every time we shoot five down another ten take their place," Dearka agreed.

"Keep the chatter down we don't have time for it," Rey told them.

"He's right. If you've got time to talk, then you've got time to shoot something," Yzak added as he fired his Gatling Guns again. Just then, a group of drones had flown a little too close for Yzak and Rey's comfort, but just as quickly as they came, they were quickly shot down as well. Looking to the source, they saw Smokescreen giving a mock salute from inside his turret on the _Xanthium_, and Yzak could not help but return it in thanks.

"Sir, we've got another problem. A large machine, by human definition, is heading straight for the _Minerva_. May be a mobile armor," Blur announced.

Everyone saw the large green mobile armor that appeared to have four stout legs on it heading straight for the two ships. "If that monster gets a hold of either one of us we're all finished. Arthur, activate Tannhäuser. We'll take out some of the fleet on the port bow along with that thing."

"Yes ma'am," Trine replied.

Sentinel then noticed that the mobile armor seemed to be changing its positioning as it headed towards the two ships. The strange thing about it though, was that it was making itself an even better target with the position it was in. When the machine suddenly activated some sort of barrier shield though, Sentinel knew exactly what it was doing and immediately called out, "_Minerva_ no! Don't fire the Tannhäuser!"

It was too late though, as the ship fired its main cannon right at the mobile armor. Then, the unthinkable happened, as the massive machine's shield seemed to not only withstand the positron cannon's blast, it even went so far as to deflect it. The minute the smoke cleared, the mobile armor was revealed to not even have a scratch on it. Seeing this, and that the mobile armor was targeting his ship again, Shinn immediately raced the Impulse right towards the large machine right as the armor extended a pair of claws to fight back against it.

Defensor was quick to move in and try to assist Shinn, but he was soon surrounded by a number of drones and had difficulty getting through them, and that immediately told him that the Impulse would be on its own for now. The battle seemed to heat up even further after that, and with the odds turning further against them, the two ships began subconsciously moving back towards Orb waters. Just before they were near the border though, the two ships received a message that shocked all of them. _"Attention Z.A.F.T. Warship _Minerva_ and Autobot Warship _Xanthium_. You present course is taking you into the territory of the Orb Union. Our nation will not permit either of you to enter our waters. Turn back at once!"_

"But if we turn back now, it's a dead certainty our ships are finished," Talia muttered.

"Agreed," Sentinel said. "Eject, stay on present course! Take us as far as we can possibly go!"

"Sir," Eject replied.

Sentinel then turned to Chromia and said, "I'm heading out with the new flight-tech modulator. You have the bridge First Commander."

"Yes sir," Chromia responded.

"Match the _Xanthium_'s course! We're doing the same," Talia then ordered her own helmsman.

Shinn saw this and knew at once that the ships were in trouble if they did not heed the warning that they were given, but before he could call out to them, the Orb ships had opened fire in the water just ahead of the ships. Shinn could hardly believe what was happening, and his shock caused him to lose focus long enough to get caught in one of the mobile armor's claws. Shinn struggled to get free when suddenly his suit's power went out completely and the armor tore the Impulse's leg off as easily as breaking a toothpick.

Shinn began to lose consciousness for a moment, and suddenly saw everything that he had endured flash before his eyes as he thought to himself, _Is this it? Is this how I'm going to die? Is this really all I can do to protect everyone?_ A minute later, he saw the memory of Bulkhead saving him and his family's life that first time, and of when Bulkhead saved his life again at Junius Seven, along with the memory of Bumblebee and Sentinel's team of Autobots fighting to save them and instantly hollered in his mind, _NO! I won't give up like this! I can do this! I won't let it end like this!_

A moment later, Shinn's eyes snapped open as he suddenly found himself in SEED Burst mode just before he righted the Impulse and blasted out of the mobile armor's firing range. He then spun his suit around and called out, "_Minerva_, Meyrin, use the Deuterion Beam System. Then get a leg flyer and sword silhouette ready."

Meyrin looked to Talia hesitantly for a moment, before Talia simply said, "Just give him what he wants."

A minute later, the Impulse had flown up to the _Minerva_ and a small green beam fired at the Gundam's forehead. As soon as that had happened, the Impulse had immediately returned to full power, and then spun around to charge at the mobile armor with its Phase Shift armor reengaged and its beam saber ready. Shinn had to give up his shield in order to get close enough to the monster that was threatening his ship, but the moment he was close enough, he stabbed his beam saber right into the machine and it instantly blew up as soon as he had jumped clear.

Shinn then called out, "Send out the flyers now!"

"Right," Meyrin replied. A moment later, the new leg flyer had replaced the damaged one on the Impulse and Shinn had switched out the Force Silhouette with the Sword Silhouette. A minute after this had happened, a large red and black blur jettisoned out of the _Xanthium_ to reveal Sentinel using the large flight-tech machine that had large wings extending outwards. As soon as he was alongside the now red and white Gundam, Sentinel charged into battle with his double bladed sword and began tearing the enemy force apart with the Impulse. Any Earth Forces ship or Eradicon drone that got it the way of the two red warriors soon found themselves cut down and destroyed in an instant.

Everyone could only look on in awe at the sight of the two before them, as they saw the Z.A.F.T. pilot and the red and black colored Prime slice away at the enemy forces blocking the paths of their two ships. "Shinn," Lunamaria gasped, hardly believing her eyes, and yet they were still telling her that her best friend was actually tearing their enemies apart like they were nothing alongside Sentinel.

"Man, they are really going at it," Dearka softly stated in awe.

"I'll say. I mean, I understand in Sentinel's case, but that Shinn kid…I've never seen someone go at it like that in a mobile suit since Kira when he turned up his intensity in the Strike," Yzak agreed.

Rey was the only one of the Z.A.F.T. pilots to look on in silent amazement, while the Autobots could only watch from where they were as well. "Well looks like that new toy the boss was working on is doing okay," Crosshairs stated.

"I was expecting it to have some kind of guns on the back of it or something," Scattershot commented.

"Man that is something else," Smokescreen commented.

"No my young friend. That is Sentinel Prime," Drift corrected.

A moment later, there was nothing left of the enemies that once stood in the way of the two ships and their path to Carpentaria, and the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ immediately recalled all of their respective forces before getting underway back to a Z.A.F.T. base.

* * *

As the battle had raged on down on Earth, Athrun had found himself thinking over everything that had happened since he returned to the PLANTs in the room that he was provided. Admittedly, he was still unsure what he should do, even after Nicol and Shiho had come by to act as his bodyguards while he visited the grave sites of his fallen comrades and they had a heart-to-heart talk about what he should do, but now Athrun felt he was close to the answer.

Athrun was about to go over to the phone to call Durandal's office for an appointment when something in his pocket started beeping. He pulled it out and revealed it to be a small Autobot comm. link headset which he immediately placed in his ear and activated. He then heard a familiar female voice calling out from the other end, _"Midnight Guardian to Red Knight. Do you read me?"_

"Red Knight here. What's wrong Midnight Guardian," Athrun replied, instantly recognizing the code that he had helped set up with the Autobots and his friends back on Earth.

_"__Things are going bad here in the kingdom, and Princess has done all she can. It's starting to look like Prince Disgusting is going to force her to marry him when the kingdom joins the rest of the rabble."_

"Has she said anything about it," Athrun asked in concern.

_"__Don't worry. She said that it's nearly that time, and that it would be a cold day in hell before she truly agreed to marry that disgusting excuse for a human being. Her words, not mine by the way. I think it's safe to safe that we're going with _the backup plan_, and that it's going to happen soon. How are things up on Mount Olympus though?" _

"The king of the mountain has a false songstress working for him. He claims it's a way for him to help keep the people calm, but I'm not so sure that's the whole truth. He has also offered me a chance to return to the ranks believing that I might be able to help accomplish his goals. I think I might be able to find out more answers of just what is really going on if I do," Athrun replied.

_"__Are you sure? If you do that, it'll become nearly impossible for you to contact us again afterwards,"_ the woman on the other end asked.

"I'm sure, and besides it'll only be _nearly_ impossible, not _completely_ impossible," Athrun reassured her. He then became more serious as he added, "I'll need to make one final request before I switch to radio silence with you and the rest of the Ark travelers."

_"__And what's that?"_

"Contact our friends in the armory, and tell them that I'll need them to send me my old sword. I think it's the time that a certain fallen bird had spoken of long ago. The time when it's power would be needed again," Athrun replied.

There was a slight pause before the woman responded, _"Alright, I'll let them know. Good luck and don't worry, I'll be sure to keep her safe along with Warrior Librarian and Winged Defender. One other thing, if they send you to their new forces, don't return to the kingdom, because they will have left by now."_

"Thank you Midnight Guardian and make sure to remind the Princess to make her true stance and opinions on Prince Un-Charming clear when it finally comes to that time when the plan begins. Red Knight out," Athrun then tapped the comm. link device and stowed it away into his pocket before he walked over to his suitcase and opened it to reveal his old Z.A.F.T. red uniform. He then stared at it for another few seconds before he walked over to the phone and dialed the number. As soon as someone on the other end answered it, Athrun said, "Yes I'd like to set up an appointment with Chairman Durandal."

* * *

**_AN: So yeah, Orb's going to be joining the war after all, and it looks like Athrun's heading back to Z.A.F.T., but wait a moment, what's this? Someone contacting Athrun and speaking in code over an Autobot comm. link?! And talk about a princess planning some sort of humiliation for a prince un-charming? Whatever could this mean? Who was it that had contacted Athrun? What else is Sentinel building to help his team in their fight? And did he use the Forge of Solus Prime to make his flight-tech pack, and if not what will he use it for? And what will Djibril be planning in response to all that has happened? The answers to these questions and more, ne..._**

**_Shinn: Uh, shouldn't all this be in the preview?_**

**_AN: No, all this should be in the preivew when I say, onto the preview!..._**

**_ Athrun returns to the ranks of Z.A.F.T. along with an old friend of his, and then immediately sets off to meet up with the _****Minerva****_ and the _****Xanthium****_, and things seem to be getting better for a moment, but it is merely the calm before a new storm. When an attempt on Lacus threatens all their lives, Kira takes to the skies once again, and Optimus rolls out into battle alongside him, ready to return to the battlefield. All this marks the beginning of the plans that the former members of the Four Ships Alliance and Team Optimus Prime had been putting together, in order to show certain individuals that they are not beaten yet or as weak as anyone had thought. Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 7: Resurrections of Golden Wings****_. Freedom, Optimus prepare to show just how strong your fighting spirits are!_**

**_Now where was I before? Oh yeah. Find out the answers to these questions and more next time. Same Gundam Channel, same Autobot time!_**

**_Seriously though, please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	7. Resurrection of Golden Wings

_**AN: Ladies and gentlemen, we are back for more once again! I just couldn't wait to get this one out there, because this is...the moment you've all been waiting for!**_

**_Kira: The arrival of the Dinobots?_**

**_AN: No._**

**_Bumblebee: The face-off between Sentinel and Lockdown?_**

**_AN: No._**

**_Shinn: The epic battle between the Freedom and the Impulse which happens alongside a battle between-_**

**_AN: No, and SPOILER! [Hits control.]_**

**_Shinn: Seriously?!...Uh nothing's happening. [Sees a pair of levers.] What are those for?_**

**_AN: Lucky you Shinn. Today you may get to avoid the punishment for nearly giving away a spoiler. Just choose one of the levers to pull, and if you choose correctly, you get to take a great ride on a rollercoaster, but choose wrong, and you still get the punishment._**

**_Shinn: Sounds simple enough._**

**_AN: Oh yeah, and Lunamaria has to be the one who chooses the lever._**

**_Luna: What? Well okay. [walks to the levers]_**

**_AN: Shinn, when you're ready, just tell Lunamaria she can pull the lever._**

**_Shinn: Okay. You ready Luna?  
_**

**_Luna: Yeah I think I've got it._**

**_Shinn: Okay then...pull the lever Luna. [Luna pulls one of the levers and a trap door opens under Shinn] WRONG LEVEEEEEEEEEEER!_**

**_Luna: Whoops [hears a loud splash]_**

**_AN: [Laughing hysterically] Oh in all seriousness though, its the chapter where Kira and Team Optimus Prime return to action, and in which we see exactly what happens between Cagalli and Yucka._**

**_Kira: You mean Yuna right?_**

**_AN: No...Now then on with the show!_**

**_I do not own anything from either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story_**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Resurrections of Golden Wings**

Athrun stood before Durandal and Meer Campbell, Durandal's fake Lacus Clyne, as he finished fastening the collar of his Z.A.F.T. uniform. It was now a few days after he had called for an appointment with the chairman, and now he had informed the man of his decision to rejoin Z.A.F.T. in order to assist in the upcoming war that they were now facing. Meer seemed to jump for joy at the sight of Athrun in his uniform, but Athrun could only grunt in acknowledgement of her excitement.

Athrun was not saying he disliked Meer, but he would not say that he liked her all that much either. From his first official meeting with her after he had returned to his hotel after his previous meeting with Durandal, he got the impression that the girl was a naïve fool as to what exactly was going on for the most part, and that she was clearly okay with just being the chairman's little puppet for whenever Durandal needed her. While her speech from that day and her appearance made her seem just like Lacus for the most part, Athrun could tell that aside from that, Meer had no clue what the real Lacus was like outside of that, a fact that was reinforced by the fact she believed that Lacus and Athrun were still engaged, which Athrun tried his best to correct her on. While it was true that there was never any official announcement on the matter, it was still well known for the most part that Athrun and Lacus's engagement had been called off during the final stages of the last war, but right now that did not matter.

What really mattered right now was when Durandal presented Athrun with a small, silver box that contained a pin that looked like a single wing. Athrun could only stare in shock at this as he stated, "FAITH members wear those."

"I thought it best not to insert you into the regular military chain of command. There might be problems, and this is a means of getting around that," Durandal explained. "FAITH operatives are supposed to swear an oath of loyalty. You need only pledge your loyalty to your own beliefs. You're the kind of man who follows his own beliefs without wavering from moment to moment, and who is prepared to fight courageously for them in times of necessity."

"I'd like to believe that is true Mister Chairman," Athrun told Durandal, secretly saying in his mind that the chairman had no idea how true that actually was.

"I'm sure you can do it. When necessary I want you to use that extra power as you see fit. Use what you have to bring about peace, not only for Z.A.F.T. and the PLANTs, but for a world where humanity can live as one," Durandal then told Athrun.

Athrun looked at the badge for another moment before finally accepting it with a salute. Durandal smiled at this and then told Athrun, "I'm sure you're concerned about Orb and the position its taking, but right now I need you to join the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_. I have high hopes for those ship, and I have a feeling they could play the same roles that the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_played in the previous war. I want you to help them achieve greatness."

Athrun then smirked a bit before he said, "If that is the case Mister Chairman, then I'm afraid that I won't be able to use the Savior as my mobile suit." Durandal raised an eyebrow in confusion at what Athrun meant by that, so the emerald eyed man quickly elaborated what he meant. "I have no doubt that it is a great machine, but if I'm truly able to accomplish what you and I both want to accomplish, then I will need to use a machine that I know will be able to do so."

"And where are you planning to find what I can only imagine to be a magnificent machine," Durandal asked, truly curious as to where Athrun was going with this.

Athrun smirked once more as he said, "Actually, it should be here any minute now."

Before Durandal could ask what Athrun meant by that, a call came through saying that an unknown mobile suit was approaching the PLANTs. When he heard this, Athrun told the chairman to request a visual of the machine, and Durandal did exactly that. When the image appeared on his screen, Durandal and Meer both gasped in surprise at what appeared before them. There on the monitor, was the familiar large form of the ZGMF-X09A Justice Gundam. Durandal threw a confused look at Athrun to which the now reinstated pilot only nodded in reply to.

Now understanding what Athrun was saying earlier, Durandal smiled even more confidently than before as he stated, "Well if this is what you feel is best, then who am I to say no to that? I know full well what you are capable of in that mobile suit, so there is now no doubt at all that you will be able to accomplish what I wish for you to do so long as you are piloting the Justice."

Athrun nodded in thanks for the chairman's words and then departed for the hangar where his old friend, the Justice, would be waiting for him. As he made his way to where he would find his new pilot suit, Athrun silently prayed that things were going just as well for the others back in Orb as they were for him.

* * *

At the same time, it was a bright and sunny day in Orb, especially at the home of the four former commanders. Murrue Ramius and Natarle Badgiruel especially were enjoying the light breeze that blew through their hair as they looked at the ocean from the deck of the house with smiles. They both then detected the smell of coffee when someone commented, "That's a nice breeze."

"Yes it is," Murrue agreed as she and Natarle both turned to see Waltfeld and Aisha walking up to them, each with a mug in both hands.

"Here, have a taste. I gave it a little more roast than yesterday's blend," Waltfeld said as he handed one of the mugs he was carrying to Murrue while Aisha handed one to Natarle.

Murrue and Natarle both accepted the mugs before they took a small sip. Thinking for a moment on how the drink tasted, Natarle then stated, "I think I liked yesterday's better."

"Same here," Murrue agreed with a smile.

Waltfeld and Aisha both then took a sip from their own mugs to test the flavor themselves before Waltfeld chuckled, "You know I think I'm starting to understand each of your tastes."

"It certainly helps to have someone else around to taste those drinks of yours. Sometimes I actually wonder if you ever make the same brew twice," Aisha told her lover.

The four all then turned to look out at the horizon as Kira walked out of the house himself. After staring for a moment, Waltfeld and Murrue both started to say something when they paused for a moment. Waltfeld then raised a hand as he said, "Go ahead. Ladies first, I insist."

"I'd like to hear the gentleman's point of view first," Murrue offered.

Waltfeld gave Murrue a small smile as he continued with what he was saying before. "Well, about Orb's decision…unfortunately I don't think that it could've been prevented no matter how hard Cagalli tried. I'm sure she did everything she could, and that she's the official leader of the country, but politics of that level are just too much for an eighteen year old to handle."

"Yes, I suppose that is true," Natarle agreed sadly. "I don't blame Cagalli for what happened, but still, it just means that we'll have to go with _that_ option now."

"Well, we shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. After all, _that_ option was also for other purposes as well, and we won't know anything until Cagalli sends either us or the Autobots the word to move," Aisha warned.

"Well if that doesn't happen, then I don't know about you guys, but Kira, Lacus, Aisha, and I have been thinking about moving away from here, and some of the Autobots have been talking about going off grid for a while," Waltfeld then revealed.

"To the PLANTs," Murrue asked.

"If it keeps up like this, that might be the only place that we Coordinators and any Transformers can live," Waltfeld stated.

"I don't know about that tiger boy," a deep voice then amended. The four turned to see Wheeljack walking over to them. "Optimus has been saying that if we do go to the PLANTs, then it will only reinforce what the people of Earth have started to believe about all the Cybertronians, and if what Ratchet's been seeing is true, then that might not be as good an idea as you think."

"What do you mean by that Jackie," Natarle asked.

"Ratchet's been going over some details of Sentinel's story as to how his ship disappeared and then ended up here, and he's found some things that didn't really make sense. I couldn't really understand all of it myself, but he did say that if we have to go with _that_ plan, then he would definitely explain it to everyone as soon as we got the chance," Wheeljack explained. "Whatever it is though, I will say this much. It's been making Optimus a bit suspicious of Sentinel and his team."

Everyone then just looked out to the horizon as they now found themselves with more to wonder about than ever before. If what Wheeljack said was true, then it could mean that the worst was still yet to come.

* * *

That evening, everyone was sleeping peacefully when Haro's detected an intruder approaching the house, and he immediately began bouncing along the hallway as he called out, "Too bad. Too bad! This isn't good!"

That started to wake up Natarle, Murrue, Waltfeld, Aisha, and Kira, who were closest to where Haro was at the time. Waltfeld and Aisha both ran out of their shared room with Energon Pistols in hand as Natarle and Murrue each came out of their own rooms as well. "I wonder where our guests are from," Aisha whispered quietly as the four all nodded to each other.

"We'll probably know soon enough. Murrue, Natarle, you two take Lacus and the kids to the shelter. Aisha, tell Wheeljack to let Optimus know what's going on. Good luck," Waltfeld told the three women.

"Right," Murrue and Natarle replied as they ran off with Aisha to their specified areas. A moment after he departed from the three women, Waltfeld ran into Kira as the latter was leaving his room.

"Get your clothes on kid," Waltfeld told Kira, upon seeing that Kira was still in his nightwear. "We've got unwanted visitors. Join Captain Ramius, Commander Badgiruel, and Aisha, and look after Lacus."

"Okay," Kira replied before he headed back into his room to get dressed as quickly as possible and then grab his own Energon Pistol.

The minute that Waltfeld was at a window that the intruders were trying to get in through, he immediately opened fire on the hostiles and took down one with a single shot from his gun. He then ducked behind the wall as someone tried to return fire through the same window before he started shooting again. Suddenly, a full spray of bullets started to rain in through the window, and Waltfeld had to turn a table on its side for better cover until he could reach a doorway that led to the hall. Thinking that he had bought enough time and that there was likely more of them in the building, Waltfeld smirked as he ducked out through the door and began to run down the hallway when he was suddenly attacked by another assailant. Waltfeld tried to defend himself, but the assailant had pulled out a knife that caused him to drop his gun.

"Hey," Waltfeld shouted as he pushed the mystery man off of him. Before his attacker could make another move against him, Waltfeld raised his left arm as it transformed into a blaster and shot said attacker point blank, mentally thanking the ones who gave him his Cybertronian prosthetic limbs as he finished saying, "I needed that."

Seeing that his attacker was down for the count at the moment, Waltfeld began to walk off to rejoin the others when he heard something come in from the man's radio. _"Target is proceeding to Area E with the children. She's unarmed and only has three female guards with her, so hurry up and take her out."_

_"__What about the Autobots of Optimus Prime,"_ another voice asked.

_"__No sign of them so far."_

_"__Too bad. I was hoping to show that librarian what happens to fake Primes."_

That was all that Waltfeld needed to hear in order to realize that these people, whoever they were, were after Lacus, and that they had assistance from Autobots that were not a part of Optimus's team.

* * *

Murrue and Natarle were both pinned down as they tried to provide covering fire as Aisha tapped in the code to open the door to the shelter, and it was not an easy task with the kids panicking about the fact that there were people trying to shoot at them. Malchio and Lacus were doing their best to keep the kids calm, but even they had limitations. Just then, a door opposite of where they were all standing opened and Waltfeld stepped through it before taking cover on the other end of the hallway himself, just when the shelter doors opened. "Keep moving, there's a lot of them," Waltfeld told everyone as he placed a hand on Kira's arm.

Suddenly, Haro bounced up in front of Lacus shouting, and drew Kira's attention to a nearby grate where he saw a man with a sniper rifle taking aim at his girlfriend. Kira quickly dived in to push Lacus aside just as the man fired, and the four former soldiers quickly spun to the source of the shot and opened fire as well. They all then dived into the shelter just as the doors closed, and only relaxed after the doors had sealed themselves shut.

Wheeljack then drove into the room, having gotten in through a secret entrance that only Optimus and his team knew about, and quickly transformed as he asked, "Optimus is sending a team this way now, just to be on the safe side. Everyone okay?"

"Yeah Jackie," Kira replied as he gasped for breath.

"They're Coordinators," Murrue gasped.

"Yeah and they're no amateurs. Those guys are well trained, and they've definitely seen combat," Natarle agreed.

"You mean they're from the Z.A.F.T. forces," Kira asked.

"Yep, and that's not the worst of it," Waltfeld told Kira. Everyone turned to him as he said, "I overheard something from one of their radios and sounded like some of them are Autobots."

"That's a pretty serious accusation to make Waltfeld. You'd better hope to Primus that you've got some good reason to think that," Wheeljack warned.

"One of the guys on the radio said, and I quote, 'I was hoping to show that librarian what happens to fake Primes'."

"They're Coordinator special forces with Autobots that have something against Optimus. Great," Murrue muttered sarcastically.

"That's not all though. I don't really know why, but it sounded to me like they were coming after her," Waltfeld then told them as he threw a glance at Lacus.

"But why do they want Lacus," Kira demanded.

"Good question. Maybe it has something to do with what we heard about from Athrun the last time he contacted us," Aisha replied.

Everyone silently agreed with that, as they remembered Arcee telling them what Athrun had told her when she contacted him in secret the other day. They then just sat down for a moment before Lacus came up to Kira and the other five as she asked, "Those men out there were after me weren't they?"

Kira could not say anything in response for two reasons. One was that he did not want to worry Lacus, and the other, was because he immediately had to catch her she stumbled from the explosion that shook the whole shelter. When more explosions followed, Wheeljack simply replied in Kira's stead saying, "Correction, they're still after you, and they've got backup now."

"What makes you say that," Natarle asked as the explosions continued, through which one could hear weapons fire.

"I'd recognize the sound of Cybertronian energon blasters anywhere," Wheeljack replied grimly. That reason, and the fact that it would not be long before the shelter they were in collapsed, was reason enough for everyone to duck into a deeper, more secure area of the shelter and seal the door shut just as it exploded.

"Are they also using mobile suits out there," Murrue asked.

"Most likely," Natarle replied.

"I don't know what they have out there or how many, both in terms of Autobots and mobile suits, but with that kind of combined fire power, it won't be too long before they get in here," Waltfeld then said grimly.

Wheeljack then turned to everyone as he stated, "Optimus and the others are still a short ways out. They may not make it in time."

Taking all this in, Waltfeld then turned to Lacus and asked, "Lacus, do you have the keys on you?"

Lacus gasped in shock, confirming that she did have what Waltfeld was asking for. "Let's open the door then. It's our only chance now until Optimus and the others get here. Unless you'd rather we all die in here without fighting back," Natarle told the pink songstress as calmly as she could.

Lacus looked down hesitantly before she and Kira turned to the large door that Waltfeld was referring to. Kira then gave Lacus a reassuring look as he said, "I'll take them. I want to do it Lacus. Please give me the keys."

"No. You don't have to," Lacus tried to argue.

Kira understood what Lacus was saying and then told her softly as he gave her a reassuring hug, "It's alright. I'm alright with it Lacus, really. It would bother me more if I was unable to protect you. I know protecting you is the right thing to do, and I can't just let Optimus fight this battle for us."

Lacus muttered a quiet apology to Kira for what this would mean for him, and then just gave a teary nod in response as Haro opened up to reveal a pair of keys that were colored gold and silver. Kira and Waltfeld then took the keys to a pair of consoles on either side of the large door and on Waltfeld's signal, they turned the keys simultaneously. The door then slowly opened, and the lights in the room behind it immediately flicked on once they had opened all the way to reveal Kira's old mobile suit, the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam, standing tall and proud in all its glory, and fully repaired after its last battle at Jachin Due.

Kira nodded to Waltfeld and Wheeljack before he made his way to the large mobile suit that had served him so well in the past, and silently asked the Freedom to lend him his power once more in order to save the woman he loved and quite possibly the world once again from the approaching darkness. The minute he had reached the mobile suit, the doors to its secret hangar sealed behind him, and everyone else quickly made their way into the final area of the shelter just as the wall was blown open.

* * *

The men that were targeting Lacus were now certain that they had their target right where they wanted her, and were about to make their move to take her out with the final wall of the shelter when they felt the ground shake for a moment. The men piloting the mobile suits that were known as the UMF/SSO-3 ASHs looked to the sky when a large beam blast suddenly erupted from the side of a nearby hill, and a moment later, none of them could believe their eyes as a white and black mobile suit with blue wings blasted out into the sky above them.

It only took one of them a minute to recognize the machine and then shout out, "It's the Freedom!"

A minute after this declaration, Kira had entered SEED Burst mode and charged the mobile suits with the Freedom's beam saber. Once he was close enough, Kira cut down two of his opponents before he proceeded to eliminate the rest of the mobile suits. Just as he was about to finish the last ones off though, a barrage of energon blasts suddenly brought him to a quick stop. Kira then looked to the source and gasped in shock when he saw multiple red and blue Cybertronian drones that were clearly Autobots. The mere idea that Autobots were helping to target Lacus was one thing, but to actually see that it was true was another thing entirely.

Kira was about to charge in and engage the enemy Autobots when a familiar horn suddenly blared, getting everyone's attention. The Autobot drones all turned to the source to see the red and blue, long nosed truck that was Optimus Prime's vehicle mode racing towards them, just before said Autobot transformed and began opening fire on them. Kira nodded to Optimus in thanks as he returned his focus to the enemy mobile suits. As he did though, he heard one of the drones shout out, "It's the fake Prime! Destroy him!"

Optimus did not let that cry deter him for a moment and immediately began dispatching the enemy Autobots with his blasters and fists, until finally; Optimus had enough of these obvious traitors. With his patience now at its limits, Optimus paused only for a second before he pulled out the magnificent blade that was once the weapon of Prima Prime himself, the Star Saber, and unleashed its radiant, blue glowing glory against those he once fought alongside against the Decepticons. The enemy drones were too shocked at the sight of the Star Saber, and how this "fake Prime" was able to unleash its full power to do anything in retaliation for very long. By the time some of them finally did, Kira and Optimus had defeated all of them, and Optimus pinned the leader of the Autobot drones under his foot with the Star Saber at his throat as the Prime told his enemy, "Surrender now, and tell me who sent you."

The unknown Autobot only snarled in response as he kicked Optimus off of him and then signaled his fellow drones something. Before Optimus or Kira could do anything more, the mobile suits, and the Autobot drones all self-destructed, leaving nothing of them behind. Optimus could only look on in sorrow at the sight of what were likely once proud Autobots turned traitors as they exploded, and he sadly told Kira, "It would appear that there is most certainly something more going on in Z.A.F.T. than any of us were led to believe."

"Yes, and now the question is who can we really trust," Kira agreed as he and Optimus both looked on at the remains of their opponents while the other Autobots that were in Optimus's team pulled up to see the end results of the battle.

* * *

The following morning, Optimus and Wheeljack were meeting with Kira, Waltfeld, Murrue, Natarle, Aisha, and Lacus in the Freedom's secret hangar to discuss the events that had taken place the previous night. "I've seen the specs on those mobile suits. They're fresh off the assembly line, and only the regular military has them," Waltfeld explained.

"That means that someone in Z.A.F.T….," Natarle began, but she found that even though she could not finish the sentence, everyone knew that it meant that someone wanted Lacus dead.

"And after what we heard about from Athrun, I think it's a pretty safe bet as to who that someone is," Murrue agreed.

"But why come after me at all," Lacus asked.

"It would seem that Chairman Durandal may want his version of Lacus Clyne to be the only one in existence, and we now have enemies even within the Autobots," Optimus replied sadly.

"But that doesn't explain where those Autobots came from, or even if they really were Autobots. It could've just as easily been 'Cons in disguise attempting to make us believe that you've been betrayed," Kira offered hopefully.

"I doubt it kid," Wheeljack immediately replied, causing Kira's hopes to be shot down. "There's no doubt that those were Autobots, and I can only think of one group that would believe that Optimus was not really a Prime."

"Sentinel's team," Aisha stated sadly.

"But…why would Autobots from Sentinel Prime's team believe that Optimus was not a true Prime, or help in trying to kill me," Lacus asked.

None of them had the answer to that, and did not get much of a chance to think on it, as Cagalli's old nursemaid, Merna, suddenly came in with a message for them from Cagalli. Kira immediately accepted the note and read it aloud as they all discovered from Merna that Cagalli was being forced into marrying Yuna Roma Seiran that very day as the treaty between Orb and the Earth Alliance was signed. As Kira read the note though, something did not make sense to him about it, aside from the part that said she was giving Kira the ring that Athrun gave her so that the Seirans would not take it away from her.

Once Kira finished reading the note, he looked to the others and voiced his concerns as he said, "This doesn't make any sense. The note makes it seem like Cagalli's all but given up trying, when we know that she hasn't even come close to doing that. It makes her sound like she's resigned herself to a fate she doesn't want and is only doing what she's been told is best for Orb, and then there's the way it's written as well."

"Uh I think you've already covered that kid," Wheeljack told Kira.

"No I don't mean the message it seems to send on the surface, I mean like how it is actually written. There's a number of spelling and grammar errors in this thing, and it's not like Cagalli to make so many mistakes when she's writing something," Kira clarified. Natarle immediately took the note to have a look at it as Kira finished saying, "And there's also the fact that when she signed it, she signed it with the Autobot symbol alongside the Orb Union symbol."

Natarle looked over the note a few times before she smirked and started to laugh a bit. Everyone looked at her like she had lost it, and that was when Natarle finally said, "That girl really is something else. All these spelling and grammar errors Kira was talking about, they're actually a coded message. She wrote this letter to make it seem like she was submitting when in reality she was sending us a completely different message."

Murrue then quickly got a pen so that they could write down the real message as they deciphered it, until it was finally finished and she read the real message aloud. "All attempts to save the Kingdom from within have failed. The time for the angels and the titans to return is now. Prepare to roll out and we'll give Prince Un-Charming his just deserts. Can't wait to see the look on his face when he realizes the truth. The Princess."

Kira and the others all looked to one and other with a smirk as they nodded while Optimus turned to Wheeljack and ordered, "Wheeljack, return to base and contact Alpha I as you do to tell them we are commencing Operation: Liberation for Freedom."

"Understood sir," Wheeljack replied as he transformed and raced off in the direction of the Autobot headquarters.

Optimus then turned to everyone else and said, "I believe that if Bumblebee or Arcee were here right now, one of them would say let us go and crash a wedding."

Kira and the others nodded and immediately made their way to a secret elevator that led to an underground hangar. Inside that hangar, they came out to the welcoming sight of the ship that had served Murrue, Kira, Natarle, and all of their old comrades so faithfully in the last war, a sight they were soon joined in viewing by Murdoch and Former-Ensign Neumann. The sight of the first vessel of the Archangel class, the _Archangel_.

* * *

It was not long after everyone of the _Archangel_'s old crew, save for a few people, had arrived that the ship was ready to get underway, and Murrue hesitantly stood by the captain's seat. Finally she looked to Waltfeld and said, "Excuse me Commander Waltfeld. I think you should be sitting in this seat."

"No, no. This ship is short on pilots as it is, and if necessary I might have to go out there myself. Besides, I believe that seat is definitely yours Captain Ramius," Waltfeld politely refused.

"I agree with Commander Waltfeld ma'am," Natarle added from her old seat on the bridge with a smile. "I may not have always seemed like it, but I have always believed that there is only one person qualified to serve as the _Archangel_'s captain, and that is you."

Murrue nodded to both of them in thanks before she took the seat that everyone felt that she deserved so much as the ship went through final preparations. She then asked, "What's the status of the Autobots?"

"Ratchet has just reported that they are ready to roll out at anytime Captain," Natarle replied, now shifting into her command mode.

Murrue nodded in response and gave the order to begin final take off procedures. The main gate then opened and the minute the restraining arms were away, the ship slowly moved out of the hangar and began its ascent to the surface. The minute the ship broke the water's surface, Murrue gave an order she had not given in a long time, "_Archangel_, take off!"

A minute after the order was given the great white ship was soon airborne and flying towards the first objective of their new mission. Not a moment later though, the water's surface was broken once more as the familiar sight of a gold and red Cybertronian ship at least twice the size of the _Archangel_ with a pair of wings on the back near the main thrusters emerged from the ocean. The minute this ship was in the air, everyone could somehow hear as Optimus Prime gave the order, "_Omega II_, roll out!"

With this declaration, the two mighty ships that had fought so hard in Earth's previous war and to defeat the Decepticons that had tried to ravage and poison the two sides of the same conflict were off once again for a new mission.

* * *

Despite the beauty of the location of the ceremony, Cagalli could barely hold herself back from nearly throwing up in her mouth. She could not believe that she was being forced to marry Yuna Roma Seiran like this, and the man had the audacity to claim that doing so was in Orb's best interests. When she first heard that, Cagalli had to give herself a mental pat on the back from keeping her need to burst out in a mocking laugh at the idea, but now all she could do was wait and hope that Kira and the others got her message.

Just as she and Yuna reached the alter, she heard a soft, fast beeping in her ear, and the blonde immediately smirked, knowing that was just the signal she was waiting for. The minute that the minister overseeing the ceremony asked if anyone objected to the union between her and Yuna, and she noticed the familiar motorcycle parked on the curb nearby, Cagalli immediately shouted, "Yes! I object to this marriage!"

Everyone had gasped in shock at hearing that the bride was voicing an objection to her own marriage, and Yuna himself looked like his face was a mix of rage, confusion, and betrayal as he spluttered out, "Cagalli what are you doing?! This is not the time for silly, little girl's games! I thought I told you to watch your-"

Anything more Yuna had to say was immediately cut off when Cagalli slammed her fist right into his face, sending him tumbling across the floor. Yuna was about to stand and shout out more angry words and threats at Cagalli, but he then immediately began to quiver in fear as he saw the enraged look on Cagalli's face and how it seemed to smirk with satisfaction as she told him, "First off, that felt so good! Seriously, you have no idea how long I have been keeping myself from doing that to you. Secondly, you never once had Orb's best interests at heart, and I will not allow you to try and play me or our country like pieces on a board in one of your games anymore!"

"Cagalli, you can't be serious," Yuna cried out.

"Shut the hell up Yuna! I wasn't done," Cagalli hollered. Yuna immediately cringed as he backed up thinking that putting some distance between himself and the enraged blonde might save him. Cagalli then smirked as she stated, "I only have one thing left to say so it shouldn't be a problem for you to just sit there quietly while I say it." Cagalli then closed her eyes for only a minute as she took a deep breath, before they snapped open once more as she shouted out with a smile, "Autobots! Transform and roll out!"

The minute Cagalli had shouted that, the sound of a Cybertronian transforming reached everyone's ears, and suddenly, one of the nearby M1s was suddenly hit by an energon blast, and another two soon followed. Everyone but Cagalli turned to the source and quickly began to flee in surprise and fear as Arcee raced up to where Cagalli was standing as she continued to fire on the Orb mobile suits. The minute the mobile suits were all down for the count, Arcee immediately leapt for where Cagalli was standing, and saw Yuna trying to hide behind her like a child would their mother.

Arcee then threw a glare at Yuna as she snarled, "Hands to yourself Seiran if you want to keep them, and do us all a favor and get away from my little sister!" Yuna immediately ran away from Cagalli screaming like a little girl, and both females could swear that the disgusting man with a stupid ponytail had wet his pants. Arcee then tapped her comm. link and called out, "Liberator Two here. Area is secured, awaiting further notice."

_"__Liberator Three to Liberator Two. Our escape route is secure, and we're ready any time. Seriously though, how did you and I end up being Two and Three,"_ Bumblebee's voice then called out in reply.

"Because it only seemed right that the target's brother be Liberator One, who is clear to land at any time by the way," Arcee responded. A minute after Arcee had finished her sentence, the Freedom blasted out of the sky and landed right next to Arcee and in front of Cagalli.

"Kira," Cagalli cried out with joy as the Freedom lifted her up off the ground, and took off again. Seeing that her job was done, Arcee immediately transformed to vehicle mode and raced away, just as some Orb Forces that were loyal to Seiran began to fire on her, only to be cut off when Bumblebee's yellow and black sports car mode jumped in and blocked all of their shots just before the two began to race away.

Just when it seemed like some of the new Orb mobile suits, the Murasames would get the Autobot couple, a Ground Bridge opened up in front of them and the two raced through just before it disappeared. The minute they were through, they transformed and landed on the deck of the _Omega II_'s Ground Bridge room, knowing that now all they had to do was wait for Kira and Cagalli to get to the _Archangel_.

* * *

The Freedom was now simply flying along towards the _Archangel_ with Cagalli still in its hands, and needless to say, Cagalli was a bit ticked off at the fact that Kira was just having his mobile suit carry her in the machine's hands instead of in the cockpit. "Kira, seriously! Either let me in or put me down," Cagalli shouted.

"You might want to reconsider that second one sis, considering," Kira replied. Cagalli just looked down to see that they were both very high up and over the ocean now as Kira continued, "Besides, think of this as your punishment for taking so long to tell us to move."

Cagalli only growled at Kira in response to this and would have said something else in retort when Kira suddenly brought her up to the cockpit's entrance and he pulled her in. Once they were both inside, Kira got a look at his sister and could not stop himself from commenting, "Wow. This is actually a pretty amazing dress."

"Shut it! This _thing_ is completely tacky and only fitting if you had the Seirans' sense of fashion," Cagalli argued.

"Just hold that thought for a minute sis, we've got incoming," Kira replied as he glanced at his radar once more. "Hang on tight." Kira then found himself unable to breathe when Cagalli wrapped her arms around his throat. "Not that tight! Not that tight," Kira then gasped.

_"__This is the Orb Forces HQ. Freedom, land immediately,"_ someone then called out over the radio.

"No can do," Kira smirked in reply as the Freedom quickly sliced two Murasames out of the sky with his beam saber before he flew his machine further out to sea. They then passed by the Orb Fleet that was near the border and towards the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_, and they never stopped until they were safely inside the _Archangel_'s hangar. Kira then simply looked at his sister and said, "Well, I'd say that went well."

Cagalli only smiled at her twin brother as the two of them climbed out of the Freedom as they felt the ship submerge underwater. She then looked to see all of the old engineers from the ship were back onboard along with her big sister figure and Bumblebee, both of whom were sending her proud, welcoming smiles.

"Thanks you guys," Cagalli finally said as she felt her eyes begin to water with happiness at the sight of how well their plan seemed to be going so far. "Now let's get to work, and find me something to wear other than this hideous dress."

* * *

Captain Todaka of the Orb Fleet had received orders that the Freedom and the Autobots had kidnapped Cagalli from her wedding, an event he was glad that he was not able to attend until he heard that news since he too would have loved to see Yuna Roma Seiran's reaction when it happened, and that they were to use extreme caution when engaging it. As they watched the Freedom disappear into the _Archangel_ and then begin to submerge underwater with the _Omega II_, he found that he was ignoring most of his men's ideas on how they should proceed.

"We are exercising extreme caution," Todaka then told his men, quoting his orders from headquarters, and effectively shutting them all up. Todaka then stood at attention and saluted the two retreating ships, and his action was soon mirrored by his fellow officers and soldiers as he thought to the two ships, _I'm counting on you _Archangel_ and_ Omega II_. Take good care of Lady Cagalli, and the future of our world._

A minute later, the two ships vanished beneath the surface of the sea as they and their crews began their new mission to save from the world and Orb from the darkness that was threatening both which none of them seemed to be aware of.

* * *

Djibril was not happy. Actually, that was putting it mildly, because Djibril was furious. They had begun a war with the PLANTs that was meant to be ended with the first blow, and yet they had beaten them back with a powerful weapon that they did not know the wretched Coordinators and their alien friends had like they were mere flies. As one of the members of LOGOS had just stated during their online conference, it was like they had dashed out in high spirits after declaring war, and then quickly retreated as soon the enemy had bloodied their noses. Then there was the battle that had taken place between Alliance Forces and the _Minerva_ and _Xanthium_ just outside Orb waters, and how Sentinel Prime seemed posses some new type of flight enhancement technology for Cybertronians. All these facts were what his fellow members of LOGOS felt was reason enough to question their leader's thinking.

_"__Is this whole scenario you wrote some kind of comedy Djibril,"_ one such member demanded from his end of the video conference.

_"__If we turn and run after raising our fists and starting this fight, we'll become the laughing stock of the world,"_ another member ranted.

_"__So what now? What do we do now? Who should we hold responsible for this? Was it your fault Djibril,"_ a third member asked.

"That is simply ridiculous. We are at war! It is now more essential than ever that we win," Djibril immediately responded. "They posses a weapon that erased our energon reactor weapon forces in an instant, and a weapon that effectively allows Cybertronians to face each other on equal footing in any battlefield. How can we feel safe with monsters living over our heads with that kind of power? We will keep fighting. We will go back to the original plan. No, we'll come up with new and better plan, and when we do we will crush them! We shall render them all powerless before us! Both Cybertronian and Coordinator!"

_"__It sounds excellent on paper Djibril, but keep in mind who our enemies are,"_ Lockdown then cut in, adding his voice to the meeting. _"I hope you have a very good idea for how you will handle the Autobots of Sentinel Prime, or even those of Optimus Prime should they become involved."_

Djibril then smirked deviously as he stated, "As a matter of fact I do. It's time we jumpstart _Project: Nemesis_."

_"__Djibril, you can't be serious,"_ the first LOGOS member who had spoken earlier exclaimed. _"That project is still in its testing phases, and you're asking us to start full production on it."_

"If it works the way we want it to, then we will not only have a weapon that can match the Cybertronians like they were fighting one of their own, but we will have effectively achieved the ability to _build_ the Transformers themselves, and turn the people against the one who leads the first group of Autobots who arrived on Earth. Plus, we have that one to ensure we're able to succeed," Djibril stated.

_"__I would be careful if I were you Djibril. Tampering with a corpse in the way you are suggesting is an action that is dangerous in and of itself, but that especially holds true with a corpse that once had dark energon flowing through it,"_ Lockdown warned.

"If that is what it takes, then we can't afford to not take the risk," Djibril reasoned. Everyone soon agreed with this, and as of that moment, plans to fully commence _Project: Nemesis_ were underway. Djibril could now only smirk as he thought to himself of how both the days of the Coordinators and the Autobots were now numbered.

Lockdown on the other hand was definitely worried that Djibril was tampering with something beyond his understanding, but if the human wished to do so, then he could not stop him. After all, Djibril was still Lockdown's client for the moment, but that did not mean the Eradicon leader thought Djibril was not making a grave mistake.

* * *

**_AN: And there you have it. Cagalli actually being in on the plan for her to be taken from the wedding, and she gave Yuna one hard hit to the face. Show of hands, how many of you honestly wanted her to do that to the guy every time you saw her with him in the first part of Gundam SEED Destiny, but uh oh! Autobots attacking Lacus along with Z.A.F.T. forces?! What is going on?!_**

**_Shinn: Wouldn't this mean that people who figured Sentinel was really a traitor were right?_**

**_AN: Maybe, or could it mean something else? Team Optimus Prime certainly seems to think that Sentinel's not as good as he used to be._**

**_Bumblebee: And what theories does Ratchet have anyways?_**

**_AN: Excellent question. One that we can't answer just yet, so for now all I can say is...Onto the preview!..._**

**_The plans that Optimus Prime's team and Cagalli, Kira, and their friends are now in motion, while Athrun arrives aboard the _****Minerva****_, meeting up once again with the ship's pilots and Yzak and Dearka. Much about what has been happening with Athrun since the last war is revealed, along with possible allies in the plans of Optimus Prime and the _****Archangel****_ crew, as the Z.A.F.T. ship and their allies aboard the _****Xanthium****_ prepare for their next battle. What will happen when Shinn finds himself now fighting alongside both Sentinel Prime's team and the legendary Justice, and just what will be revealed to everyone on the _****Archangel****_ of what Ratchet has discovered? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 8: Battles Abound****_. Justice, brace yourself for the coming storm upon your return to action!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	8. Battles Abound

_**Elmer Fud: [sneaking around on tip-toe] Shhhh, but vewy, vewy queit. I'm hunting authows. [gives his iconic laugh]**_

_**Luna: Okay, what the hell is he doing here?**_

_**Cagalli: Apparently, the author caught Shinn trying to send someone a private message to give away a spoiler on something that happens in both this story and the author's newest story, Code: Avengers, a crossover between Code Lyoko and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and then said that he was going to give Shinn a chance to avoid the punishment again by giving him the number of a professional hunter to protect him.**_

_**Luna: And the number he gave Shinn was Elmer Fud's from the Bugs Bunny cartoons?**_

_**Cagalli: Hey, I never said he gave Shinn the number of a professional hunter who actually got something, or was even good.**_

_**[Both hear Elmer firing his gun into a hole where he thinks the author's hiding]**_

_**Elmer: Okay authow, I know you'we in thewe!**_

_**AN: Meeeeh, [chomps on some pizza] What's up doc?**_

_**Elmer: I'm hunting authows. It's authow season.**_

_**AN: Hm. Author season huh? Having any luck?**_

_**Elmer: No as a matter of fact I haven't even seen an authow yet.**_

_**Shinn: Oh you have got to be...What is wrong with you?! Don't you even know an author when you see one?!**_

_**AN: Alright, ya got me. I'm an author. Would you like to shoot me now, or wait till you get home?**_

_**Shinn: Wha-he's not gonna wait! Just shoot him now!**_

_**AN: Oi, Asuka! You keep out of this! He doesn't have to shoot you now!**_

_**Shinn: Oh yeah? Well I say he does have to shoot me now! In fact, I demand that you shoot me now!**_

_**Elmer: [Aims rifle at Shinn who's sticking his tongue out at the author in victory, until the gun blasts him in the face, messing his hair up]**_

_**Shinn: [walks over to the author, but pauses for a minute] Oh no you don't. Not this time. This time we'll try it from the other end. Look, you're a hunter, right?**_

_**Elmer: Right.**_

_**Shinn: And it's author season, right?**_

_**Elmer: Right.**_

**_AN: And if he was the author, what would you do?_**

**_Shinn: Yeah, you're so smart! If I was the author what would you do?_**

**_Elmer: Well I'd...[aims gun at Shinn's face]_**

**_Shinn: Not again. [gets blasted in face again. Turns back to the author] Haha. Very funny._**

**_Luna: This could take a while._**

**_Cagalli: Yep. Looks like we'll be answer reviews after the chapter today._**

**_Bumblebee: Guess the only thing we can do is get to the story. It has been a while, and I'm sure that while this is entertaining to some, others just want to see what happens next in the Cybertron Cosmic Era._**

**_Cagalli: Good call...hey Luna, you want to do the disclaimer this time?_**

**_Luna: Can I?! Wow, barely that many chapters in and I already get a chance to do the disclaimer a second time?! For real?!_**

**_Bumblebee: Go for it girl._**

**_Luna: Okay then..._**

**_Elmer: Alright, say you'we pwayews authow! It's authow season!_**

**_AN: [Pushes rifle towards Shinn] Pilot season._**

**_Shinn: [Pushes it back] Author season_**

**_AN: Pilot season!_**

**_Shinn: Author season!_**

**_AN: [starts to push before pulling it back] Author season_**

**_Shinn: Pilot season!_**

**_AN: Author season!_**

**_Shinn: Pilot season! Fire! [gets blasted]_**

**_Luna: Hey do you guys mind! We're trying to start over here! Anyways..._**

**_lyokoMARVELanime does not own anything from either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Battles Abound**

A few hours after the two ships had left Orb, the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ were both safely resting on the surface of the ocean floor a safe distance away, and Cagalli had changed into her old Orb uniform that she wore in the previous war, much to her pleasure. After getting the blonde representative set up with quarters aboard the _Archangel_ and Kira had returned the ring Athrun had given Cagalli to her, the twins, Lacus, Waltfeld, Aisha, Murrue, and Natarle had all Ground Bridged over to the _Omega II_ in order to discuss their next move, and so that Ratchet could give them an important revelation that he had discovered after studying some data from the _Xanthium_. "So basically, at this point there really isn't all that much we can do at the moment," Cagalli observed after hearing the situation report.

"Well no, at least not without some form of Intel there isn't, but for the moment we can try to recover something and at least speculate some theories on the true situation at hand," Natarle replied.

"Be that as it may, I believe that there is still much going on that the rest of humanity is unaware of, and if we are to make any difference, I believe that the best place to start would be with any conflict that involves the Orb Forces, should they suddenly become active alongside those of the Alliance," Optimus then said.

"I agree, but who's to say that the Alliance or Z.A.F.T. is our only problem," Ratchet then spoke up.

Everyone then turned to the medic as Waltfeld asked, "Care to enlighten us with your meaning by that, Doc Bot?"

Ratchet then turned to his console and brought up an image of a strange device that looked like a small cylinder with jagged triangles on its sides as he explained his reasoning for saying what he did, "These are the specs that Sentinel Prime gave us on the Miniaturized Space Bridge generator, and from what I can tell of these readings, I believe that Sentinel's story on how the _Xanthium_ had disappeared may not be entirely accurate."

"And for those of us who can't understand Cybertronian or tech speak, what exactly does that mean," Aisha then asked, reminding Ratchet of the fact that not everyone in the room was a technical genius or a Cybertronian.

Ratchet glanced at the woman for a moment before he explained, "According to these readings, the Space Bridge generator was indeed activated after they had left Cybertron, but from what I can tell, it was not as damaged as Sentinel indicated it to be, nor was it activated because of an accident."

Everyone's eyes instantly widened at what the Autobot medical officer had just said, because Ratchet had basically said that the Miniaturized Space Bridge Generator was working and that someone on the _Xanthium_ had triggered it purposely when the ship had disappeared. At that point, Murrue had to ask, "But if that was the case, then why wouldn't they have used it to stop Junius Seven from falling?"

"I cannot say for certain, but theoretically speaking, it could be because that Sentinel was already in the process of repairing the device by the time they reached us in Orb and it really was too damaged to risk using, or if it was functional, perhaps because there was no time to reset the coordinates on it as its last set of coordinates would have to have been either Earth or Cybertron. Just as easily though, it could be that Sentinel's entire team is a part of whatever the PLANT chairman is really planning, whatever the reason, we can only guess at this point," Ratchet replied solemnly, feeling as though he were completely useless due to not knowing the answers that he normally should know.

"Well I say we find someone from Sentinel's inner circle and make them tell us," Wheeljack suggested as he punched a fist in his open hand.

"That would be far too risky Wheeljack," Optimus declined. "We cannot afford to reveal ourselves just yet, especially after having just left Orb. Whatever reasons Sentinel did not use the Miniaturized Space Bridge Generator to stop Junius Seven do not really matter at this point."

"Are you kidding me?! Optimus if that is true and Sentinel's part of some big conspiracy," Cagalli started to protest.

"Then there's nothing we can do about it now," Kira interrupted. Everyone turned to Kira wondering why he said that, and the Ultimate Coordinator then explained, "Whatever the reason is, it doesn't matter, because it's already happened and the damage has already been done, and I think it's safe to say that sooner or later, the Transformers will no longer be a secret to Earth because of actions that Sentinel and others have or have not yet taken. So for right now, we need to focus on doing what we can do and not what's already happened."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Kira at that, and they all then began to discuss assignments that they could each carry out to help their cause before bringing the meeting to a close for the day. As she left for the Ground Bridge to return to the _Archangel_, Cagalli held her hand that she was wearing Athrun's ring on, silently praying that Athrun was still safe since their last communiqué with before he had returned to Z.A.F.T. Seeing his sister's worried look, Kira walked over, placed a hand on her shoulder, and smiled as he said, "Don't worry Cagalli. I'm sure Athrun's fine."

"I agree Cagalli," Optimus then said, adding his own two cents in. "Athrun Zala is someone who is more than capable of handling himself in the field, and there is no doubt in my processor that he shall eventually return to us, so for now we can only wish him well and pray that when he does return, he does so safely."

Cagalli smiled at the two and thanked them for their words, saying she really needed that, and then she and Kira walked through the Ground Bridge and back to the _Archangel_, deciding to work on their Gundams the minute they were back aboard the faithful vessel.

* * *

During this time, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ were both safely docked at Carpentaria receiving full repairs, and the pilots and crew were all taking the time they now had to gather some things that they felt they would need personally after they headed out once more or were just working on their respective machines. The whole time, everyone was wondering what the two ships will be doing once their repairs were completed, which was a very good question. Both ships were meant for space combat but since they were such formidable forces there was also a likely chance that they would end up staying on Earth, even if it did not make much sense to some people. As these thoughts were running through the minds of everyone who was currently in the _Minerva_'s hangar, among which were Smokescreen, Crosshairs, and Springer, an announcement suddenly went out saying, _"All hanger personnel prepare to receive incoming mobile suit. Repeat, all hangar personnel prepare to receive incoming mobile suit."_

"What? Is a new pilot joining us or something," Dearka asked.

"Looks that way," Yzak replied. He then looked to see the machine being brought into the hangar and both his and Dearka's eyes widened the moment they say the familiar machine being rolled in. "Is that…?"

"The Justice," Dearka finished for his friend.

The same question was going through the minds of every Z.A.F.T. member in the hangar the minute they saw the machine, when the cockpit opened and the pilot lowered himself to the ground. The pilot in question seemed to be a young man in a dark purple, black, and white pilot suit, and at the moment no one could see his face through his visor, but they could all see the FAITH badge that he wore on his chest. The minute his feet touched the ground, he set down his brief case and removed his helmet to reveal an all too familiar face to everyone.

"Well whadya know," Dearka muttered with a small smile upon seeing the man before them.

"Recognition number 285002. Athrun Zala, FAITH Special Forces team, permission to board," the returning Z.A.F.T. pilot announced as he handed his helmet to one of the mechanics. The minute he said he was with FAITH, Shinn, Lunamaria, and all the other Z.A.F.T. forces present stood at attention and saluted, except for one who was seething mad.

"WHAT THE HELL," Yzak shouted. "The minute you rejoin Z.A.F.T. you get a god damned promotion to a level above me! Well I don't give a damn if you're the chairman of the PLANTs himself, I'm in command here, got that?"

Athrun simply smiled to his old friend as he returned everyone else's salutes as he said, "Believe me, that's fine with me, Yzak. I think I've honestly had as much as I can take of commanding mobile suit teams, but if I feel it's necessary, I will step in and take command."

Yzak paused for a moment and then allowed himself a small smirk as he finally saluted his old friend and replied, "Fair enough."

Athrun then told everyone to stand at ease and the moment he did, Shinn quickly said, "Welcome back Commander Zala. It's going to be an honor to fight alongside you."

Lunamaria instantly nodded in agreement with her best friend, and Athrun simply replied, "The pleasure will be all mine Shinn. Is the captain on the bridge?"

"Actually, last I heard she was in her ready room. I can escort you there if you like," Shinn told him.

"I appreciate that Shinn, but I'd rather Yzak did if you don't mind. There's something that he will need to hear as well," Athrun politely declined.

Yzak just nodded with a small huff and then gestured for Athrun to follow him. A few minutes later, Athrun had changed out of his pilot suit and into his regular red uniform, and the two were soon in the elevator headed up to the deck the captain's ready room was on. The minute the doors had closed, Yzak turned to his friend and then asked, "So why did you decide to come back to Z.A.F.T. now, of all times? I hope it's not cause you thought we wouldn't survive without the great Athrun Zala."

Athrun chuckled for a bit before he replied, "I think you know the answer to that already Yzak. After all, you have been receiving calls from a certain group of guardians as well."

Yzak stared at Athrun for a moment before he smirked and conceded, "Fair enough. Just tell me you didn't go to Orb before coming here."

"No. I heard about the situation there from a reliable source and headed straight here from the PLANTs," Athrun replied. He then glanced around him, almost like he was checking for something, before he asked his old friend, "And how've things been working with Sentinel?"

Yzak stared at Athrun once more before he told him, "Nothing too special. His group is a lot more organized than the Decepticons were, but aside from that there really isn't anything out of the ordinary."

"Not even in reference to plans Sentinel has for the Forge of Solus Prime," Athrun queried.

Yzak thought for a minute before he finally replied, "Well, I did overhear one of Sentinel's men talking to some of the _Xanthium_'s crew. I think it was the one called uh…Treads or something?"

"I think you mean Tracks," Athrun corrected.

"Right him," Yzak said as he snapped his fingers. "Anyways, he said that ever since they had arrived on Earth, Sentinel was doing what he could to amass a large amount of energon for some secret project. At first I figured it was something to do with that flight-tech modulator he used when we were escaping Orb, but then I heard Tracks say that whatever it was it involved all the different types of energon that they could get their hands on."

Athrun looked at Yzak in shock for a moment before he asked, "Did you say that you had escaped Orb? What exactly happened when you guys were leaving?"

Yzak then recounted how the two ships had encountered an Earth Forces fleet the minute they had left Orb waters and how they all nearly ended up destroyed had Shinn and Sentinel not taken such great taken action when they did. "Seeing Sentinel fight the way he did definitely showed me just how well-seasoned a warrior he is in comparison to Optimus Prime, but in Shinn's case, it was almost like I was watching Kira fighting whenever he got really serious during the last war back when he was piloting the Strike," Yzak finished.

Athrun could only stare at Yzak wide-eyed after hearing what had happened, but he knew that there was a likely chance that everything that happened was because Cagalli had failed in her attempts to get the ministers to see reason. He then looked back to Yzak and asked, "You mentioned that they were using all the different types of energon they could get their hands on for this project. Do you mean to say that there's more varieties of it than just dark energon?"

"Yeah that's what it sounded like, and when you think about it for a minute, it actually makes a lot of sense. I mean energon is called the life blood of all Transformers, so if that is true then it only makes sense there's more than one type of energon just like there's more than one type of blood," Yzak reasoned. At Athrun's nod in agreement, Yzak continued saying, "I couldn't really hear everything all that well from where I was, but I heard them mention that one of the types was something called toxic energon, or tox-en."

"Toxic energon? Wouldn't that just be dark energon since it's so dangerous," Athrun asked.

"That's what I thought at first too, but after listening to them talk about the safety precautions they had to take when handling it, I kind of doubt that they're the same thing," Yzak replied. "Then they mentioned something about red energon, and while I couldn't hear the full details about it, I did hear them say that it could cause there to be more blurs. I guess I can see why they'd want to avoid that. I mean, what's the use of a soldier that can't see straight."

"I don't think they meant that kind of blur, if what you're telling me is right Yzak," Athrun then corrected his friend. "I think they mean more Blurs, as in the _Xanthium_'s operations chief. That could mean that it grants someone the ability to be just as fast as he is, if not faster."

Yzak nodded as he admitted that made more sense and that he was still having a hard time remembering the names of all of Sentinel's Autobots, which he stated was ironic given how quickly he was able to memorize the names of the Decepticons they worked with. Athrun simply joked in reply saying that it helped that they made themselves pretty unforgettable, and instantly got a laugh out of both of them, until Yzak turned a serious look to Athrun as he said, "Are you really sure about this Athrun? I mean, it's not that I'm not glad you're back with Z.A.F.T. again, but there were other ways for you to help out besides this."

Athrun looked to side for a minute before he turned back to Yzak and revealed, "In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure myself, but it does feel like what I should be doing, both for the sake of the world, and for myself." Yzak gave Athrun a confused look, and Athrun then simply requested, "What I'm about to tell you is something that no one other than Cagalli knows at the moment, and that's why I'm going to have to ask you to keep this a secret from everyone, including Nicol and Dearka." When he received a nod in reply from Yzak, Athrun then went on to tell him his secret. "To be honest, I can't help but think you might be right when you said I shouldn't be out on the battlefield right now."

"I never said that Athrun," Yzak protested, but Athrun just raised a hand to silence him in response.

"You didn't really have to, but really it's okay," Athrun reassured his friend. "Actually, I'm wondering how I can really handle myself on the battlefield right now anyways. In all honesty Yzak, I can't sleep, at least not these last six months anyway, and even when I do I have nightmares."

"Athrun, it's normal for any soldier to have nightmares about the battles they had fought in. I've even had a few myself, but if it only started happening in the last six months then it is a bit strange," Yzak tried to reassure his friend.

"Except these aren't dreams of the past," Athrun immediately disputed, and with that Yzak was now really confused. "In the nightmares, I always see them Yzak. Rusty, Miguel, Jaylen, even Dreadwing and someone who looks just like him, but they don't look like themselves. They look like some sort of horrible monstrous versions of themselves, and they're surrounded by others who are in the same state. The others I see are different every time, but standing over them, are two figures that are…I can't really describe it beyond saying that they feel tainted with the purest of pure evil there is, even though they look so familiar."

"Who do you think the two figures are," Yzak asked worriedly.

"I know it sounds crazy, but…every time I see them, it's like I'm looking right at Megatron and Rau Le Creuset, back from the dead," Athrun replied with a shaky voice, his grip on his brief case tightening as he did.

"But that's impossible. The only way that could happen is if dark energon was used, and I don't think that effect of the stuff applies to humans," Yzak argued.

"I know, but there's something else," Athrun then whispered. "Standing behind them, is something that's probably the biggest thing I've ever seen. Even larger than any Transformer or mobile suit I've ever seen, almost like it's size is greater than that of a planet, and whatever it is, when I looked into its eyes in the dreams, it's almost like the purest incarnation of darkness and evil is staring back, especially when it speaks."

Yzak was now really worried, and he could see why this would keep Athrun up at night, but he still felt the need to ask in a small whisper, "What did it say?"

Athrun looked to Yzak and softly replied, "Beware, for my reawakening is upon you all, and my return shall see the end of everything."

The two just finished the rest of the elevator trip in silence until the elevator finally came to a stop, and the minute they stepped out, Athrun revealed to his friend, "You should know, that the last I heard, the guardians were going to be liberating the princess from her prison of a kingdom, so it's likely there might not be a message from them any time soon."

Yzak nodded and then smirked as he said, "Speaking of princesses, did you hear what happened at your girlfriend's arranged marriage? Apparently she objected to the marriage herself and then punched the groom across the grounds or something, and then the Freedom, Bumblebee, and Arcee suddenly showed up and kidnapped her."

"Now that is something I would've loved to have seen," Athrun laughed in response. The two quickly recomposed themselves when they saw that they were now outside the door to the captain's ready room, and simply hit the buzzer to let her know they wanted to speak with her. The minute they were told to come in, Talia looked up from her desk and the report that Arthur Trine had just given her and her eyes widened at the sight of Athrun standing there wearing a FAITH badge.

Talia and Arthur both quickly saluted him, the latter with a small glare as he did though, and then resumed their original position as Athrun approached Talia's desk and took out some items from his brief case saying, "Chairman Durandal reinstated me and sent me to serve aboard the _Minerva_ as it continued to serve alongside the _Xanthium_. He also asked me to give you the two ships' next assignment along with these items for you and Commander Joule."

Athrun placed his brief case on the desk before pulling out a file folder filled with papers along with a pair of small cases and then placing them on the desk. Talia accepted the papers and began to read over them, and when she finished, she looked over them again a second time, as though looking for some hidden meaning before she simply sighed and placed the papers back down on the desk before picking up one of the small cases, inside each of which was a FAITH badge. "Brings you back as a FAITH agent, lets you use your old ace machine from the last war at your request, assigns both you and the two members of the Joule team to our ship, and makes me and Commander Joule members of FAITH to," Talia observed aloud, making a small note of Yzak's eyes widening when he heard that he was being made a member of FAITH as well as she did. "What in the world is the chairman thinking about these days? I wonder."

"Sorry to disappoint ma'am, but I'm afraid I don't know any more than you do on that matter," Athrun apologized.

"No need. There's nothing to apologize for," Talia assured Athrun. "So, regarding these orders…do you happen to know what they are Athrun?"

"No ma'am. I wasn't given that information," Athrun instantly answered, though he would not deny that he wanted to take a peek due to curiosity a few times on his way there.

"I see," Talia replied. The _Minerva_'s captain then tapped a small device on her desk and a moment later, a holographic image of Sentinel Prime and Chromia appeared in the room as the _Xanthium_ commanding officers opened communications with them.

_"This is Sentinel Prime and Chromia aboard the _Xanthium_. Go ahead _Minerva_,"_ Sentinel's hologram called.

"Sentinel, I think you'd like to know that the _Minerva_'s newest pilot is none other than Athrun Zala, who is now a member of FAITH, and that recent orders from the homeland have stated that Commander Joule and myself are being promoted to FAITH as well," Talia began. She then picked up the papers that had their orders as she continued, "We've also received orders on the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_'s next assignments, and I must say they are interesting."

_"What do you mean by that Captain Gladys,"_ Chromia asked.

"As soon as the two ships are ready to take off, we're to make our way to Gibraltar, and support the forces in their attempt to capture Suez," Talia then informed them. That shocked everyone there, but Sentinel did not seem to notice all that much.

_"Well it seems that it's now been made official. Our two ships are now effectively partners in combat,"_ Sentinel commented.

"Yes but, support the forces at Gibraltar in an attack on Suez? Sir, ma'am, us," Arthur asked.

"I suppose it makes sense to go there next," Yzak commented in the captain's stead. "If the conflict spreads to include Western Eurasia, there'll be some really messy fighting. Plus, you can't deny the Earth Forces base at Suez poses a threat to Gibraltar, but I can't understand why they would send us given how far we would have to travel."

"I agree sir," Arthur immediately stated. "The _Minerva_ isn't even equipped for land warfare!"

_"From my understanding, neither were the _Archangel_ or the _Omega II_ from the last war, and yet they were constantly having to face their greatest battles here on your planet,"_ Chromia commented.

_"Yes, but it is still a wonder why they would ask us,"_ Sentinel admitted.

"What is the conflict in Western Eurasia about, ma'am," Athrun suddenly asked. Everyone on the _Minerva_ looked at Athrun for a minute before he explained, "I'm sorry, but I'm still in the dark about a lot of these things."

"It's actually not all that surprising you haven't heard about it yet, Athrun," Yzak commented.

"Commander Joule is right, it actually just started," Talia added.

_"From my understanding, Eurasia is, to be accurate, being taken advantage of by the Federation, and now part of Eurasia's territory is trying to secede and make a bid for independence. It actually started around the start of the war if I remember correctly,"_ Sentinel explained.

"That's correct Sentinel," Talia confirmed.

"I know this had been building up for a while but…" Athrun started to say, but he was quickly interrupted by Yzak.

"Basically, the start of the war fanned the embers into flames," the silver haired man told his old teammate.

"Exactly, and now the people in that area are rebelling for a number of reasons," Talia said immediately picking up from where Yzak had left off. "They're basically sick and tired of being forced into military service and having their rights restricted. The Earth Forces are trying to suppress the uprising with brute force, so I hear things are getting pretty ugly, and that's where we've been ordered to go gentlemen."

_"And when you take into account that it's likely that Lockdown and the Eradicons will be there as well, it just makes more sense for us to be sent there to put a stop to it before things get worse,"_ Sentinel then finished.

"So what are we supposed to do when we get there? Rally the people's spirits and get them to rise up against the Alliance long enough for us to slip some help in, and then be forced to watch them as they get beaten down by the Alliance afterwards just because they received a little help from us," Yzak immediately demanded rhetorically. He then let out a small sigh before saying, "Captain, I won't deny that the rookie pilots are good, but I'm not entirely sure how ready they are for a mission of this magnitude, and when you factor in that the Sentinel Prime and his Autobots aboard the _Xanthium_ are still new to Earth and how things are done here, it does not really seem like much of reassurance to have them with us. No offense Sentinel Prime, sir."

_"None taken, Commander Joule, but please, just Sentinel is fine,"_ Sentinel immediately reassured the now Z.A.F.T. FAITH commander.

"Then there's Shinn Asuka. I'll admit he's good, probably about as good as Kira Yamato was during his early days in the previous war and around the end of it as well, but he has a bit too much of a hero complex and doesn't really get the idea of restraint when it's necessary. That kind of thing is just asking for trouble if he takes things too far," Yzak then finished.

Athrun gave Yzak a small glance of surprise at his level headed observation, as he still remembered the old days when Yzak would prefer to leap at the first chance possible to undertake these kind of missions. He then remembered that Yzak did begin leading forces during Operation: Spitbreak and that he lost some good people in some of the battles afterwards, and when you add in the fact that he was practically following along with the Decepticons intentions until it was almost too late to realize the truth, it only made sense that even Yzak would start to begin thinking things through a bit more calmly.

"I won't deny that your arguments do have a strong amount of truth to them Commander Joule, and we can most certainly expect some fighting, but we're being deployed for self-defense purposes only. The PLANTs have no desire to acquire this territory, and this position requires us to not interfere carelessly in the disputes of others. I realize that this is a difficult place, but that's still our assignment," Talia then reasoned in reply to Yzak's argument. She then smiled to the two veterans as she finished, "And that includes the three of us acting as agents of FAITH. Please remember that."

"Yes ma'am," the three men saluted in reply.

_"I shall inform my Autobots of the situation before we are ready to head out. We'll contact you when that time comes, Captain Gladys,"_ Sentinel then reported. After getting a nod in reply from Talia, Sentinel then turned to Athrun and gave him some final parting words, saying, _"And Athrun, it is good to see you again, and that you've rejoined your old allies in Z.A.F.T."_

"Thank you Sentinel," Athrun replied with a small salute, and with that, Sentinel and Chromia ended their communication, and then Yzak and Athrun excused themselves so that Yzak could show Athrun to his quarters on the ship before they returned to the hanger.

* * *

Down in the hangar, Dearka and Shinn had both finished their work on their respective machines, and were now just gazing up at the large mobile suit that was just added to the _Minerva_'s forces along with Smokescreen. "Man, the last time I saw this thing was after Jachin Due when it was a total mess, not as bad as the Freedom was, but still…and now look at it. Good as new like the day it first appeared in sky during the invasion of Orb," Dearka sighed in nostalgia. "Man, the new Rosso Aegis getting assigned to Shiho, the unofficial word on the reappearance of the _Archangel_, the _Omega II_, and the Freedom, and now the Justice becoming part of this ship's mobile suit compliment…it really makes me miss my old Buster more than ever."

"Say, I've always wondered what exactly happened to your old machine and those of Commanders Joule, and Amalfi," Shinn asked.

Dearka just sighed as he sadly informed the young pilot, "Well when we returned to the PLANTs, we handed them over, but the problem was the three machines were all seriously banged up and already starting to go out of date so they ended up just being decommissioned. I mean sure they made a new Aegis, but I'd honestly be surprised if they didn't turn our old machines into scrap to make some new spare parts."

"Aw that frags," Smokescreen moaned. "Just cause something's old doesn't mean you get rid of it. I mean, just look at Kup, he's living proof of that."

All three of them got a good laugh out of that when they suddenly heard Lunamaria call out to someone. They then turned to see she had run up to the cockpit of the Justice and was now talking Athrun's ear off a mile a minute, until eventually the FAITH operative offered to let her sit in the Justice for a minute, so long as she did not move it around. As he watched the two interact, Shinn could not help but glare at Athrun for a minute, and this fact did not escape Dearka's notice, and he quickly teased, "What's the matter Shinn? You getting jealous cause your girlfriend's hanging out with a big war hero?"

Shinn's face suddenly went as crimson as his eyes as he stuttered, "N-no, I'm not jealous, and she's not my girlfriend!"

"I'd cut the kid a break if I were you Dearka, especially since you don't have a girlfriend," Yzak pointed out as he walked up to the three. "At least not since Miriallia broke up with you."

"Shut it," Dearka warned his friend. Smokescreen was about to ask what actually happened between Dearka and this Miriallia person when the blonde noticed the badge that was now pinned on his friends uniform. "Yzak, you've been made a member of FAITH?"

"Yeah, orders from the homeland that Athrun brought with him," Yzak replied proudly. "Oh, and you guys should know, first thing tomorrow morning, we'll be heading out to Gibraltar to support them in an operation to capture Suez."

"What? That's crazy," Dearka protested.

"Hey, I agree with you man, but orders are orders, so there's not really anything we can do about it," Yzak then pointed out. As the two continued to talk, they did not notice Smokescreen had moved over to where Athrun was standing as Lunamaria continued to observe the Justice's cockpit.

When he noticed the young Autobot approach him, Athrun turned and asked, "You're Smokescreen, right? Is there something you needed?"

"No, I just wanted to say welcome back to Z.A.F.T. and that I hope I get another chance to work with you again," Smokescreen told him. "I mean, it's a really great honor to work alongside a war hero like you, even if you're a war hero for another planet."

"Uh…thanks. I'm looking forward to working with you as well," Athrun finally told Smokescreen with a smile.

"Also, I was wondering if you could tell me about the capabilities of this machine for when we go into battle later," Smokescreen then added. "Sentinel has always said that knowing what your allies are capable of is a big help in defeating your enemy."

"Sure, I'd be happy to," Athrun then replied, and soon enough, Athrun was filling the young Autobot in on everything he would need to know about the Justice's capabilities.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere out at sea, the Earth Forces Fleet Flagship was cruising peacefully towards its next battle, and a certain young blonde pilot in a pink Earth Forces uniform was sitting up on deck staring out at the surrounding waters. As she continued to watch, she only made a slight note of the two regular soldiers passing by until one of them walked over to her. "And what brings you out here, pretty thing," the man openly flirted as he walked over.

"The sea," the girl replied slowly. "I like looking at it."

The man just paused in confusion for a second before getting his swagger back and saying, "You're a strange one aren't you? Well how about you and I get together?"

He was about to place his hands on the girl when a sudden burst of water sprayed him and his friend. The two then turned to see a large purple speed boat with a missile launcher racing back towards them before it transformed to reveal Thunderblast, who quickly aimed her weapon at the man all while sporting a little, mischievous smile. "Now is that any way to show a girl how to have a good time," Thunderblast jokingly berated. "You know, you're going to have to do better than that to impress someone from the eighty first autonomous mobile group."

The man stared at Thunderblast in fear and the minute she mentioned who the blonde girl was with, he immediately freaked out and ran off with his friend close behind. Seeing her work was done, Thunderblast holstered her cannon before turning to the blonde and cheerfully saying, "Hey girl friend! If you really want to enjoy the sea, how about letting good old Thunderblast show you how it's done Stella?"

Stella immediately perked up and nodded to Thunderblast excitedly, and the next thing anyone knew, the two were racing across the water without a care in the world, with Stella riding in Thunderblast's speed boat mode. "Ya see, Stella? This is the life. The sun, the sea," Thunderblast commented.

"Yeah," Stella agreed happily, and they would have continued to enjoy themselves until a large shadow suddenly came over them.

"Hey, what happened to our sun," Thunderblast demanded, and then Stella looked up to see Sting riding inside of Thrust's vehicle mode.

"Thunderblast, you shouldn't be out playing when there's work to be done," the Eradicon tactician scolded.

"Oh buzz off and quit blocking our sun you big cone headed goon," Thunderblast quickly retorted.

"Why you miserable little," Thrust began to say, but he quickly cut himself off as he swerved to avoid some energon blasts that the female Eradicon sent his way. "Look, we don't have time for this. Lockdown and Neo Roanoke need to see us all, and they sent Sting and myself to get you two when you couldn't be found!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Thunderblast said. "Sorry girl, but looks like we'll have to pick this up later."

"It's okay Thunderblast," Stella reassured her, and with that, all four of them returned to the two ships that were now side by side in the water as they waited for them.

* * *

The following morning, the _Minerva_, the _Xanthium_, and a Vosgulov class submarine had headed out of port from Carpentaria and off to their next destination and their next assignment. The minute the two ships had left port, everyone was preparing themselves for possible action, as the _Minerva_ pilots had all suited up, and Sentinel had Blaster deploy Eject and Rewind to the same stations they held during the battle outside of Orb while Crosshairs, Mirage, and Chromia manned the turrets, Smokescreen, Tracks, and Springer handled the upper deck, and the Protectobots were to remain on standby until further notice. Drift had taken Chromia's usual position on the bridge in her place while Blur, Kup, and Blaster all remained at their usual posts. All-in-all, Team Sentinel Prime was making sure that they were ready for anything and not scrambling to battle stations this time around in case the enemy came after them.

It was good thing that they had too, because a few hours after the ships had left port at Carpentaria, Blur had picked up something on the _Xanthium_'s sensors and immediately shouted in his usual high speed voice, "Sentinel, we've got a major, major problem. Enemy signals detected. Possible Earth Forces attack force and Eradicons in bound. Eradicons in the air, Eradicons in the water, Eradicons on ice, Eradicons, Eradicons, Eradicons!"

"_Minerva_," Sentinel immediately shouted, cutting Blur off before he could rant any further.

"Yes, we know. We just picked up the same signals along with thirty Windams, the Chaos, and the Abyss," Talia reported as they could see the _Minerva_'s bridge lowering into its combat position on their monitor. "We're going to condition red now."

"Understood," Sentinel replied. "All hands, combat alert! Prepare for action! Smokescreen, Tracks, Springer, head out now! First Commander, I want you and the others to make sure those turrets are primed and ready by the time we're in firing range!"

"Understood sir," Chromia replied along with the rest of the Autobots that were just spoken to.

"Where could they have come from though," Drift wondered. "Is there a carrier nearby?"

"None that I can see, so what exactly could that mean," Blaster rapped in reply.

"The mirage colloid again," Trine suggested.

"On the ocean? That's impossible," Talia pointed out.

"There's no time to think about it now. We'll worry about it after the battle unless something happens to cause us to do otherwise," Sentinel cut in. "Blur, keep scanning for any signs of the _Tidal Wave_, an Earth Forces vessel or even an enemy base, just to be safe."

"Roger that, no problem, on it, on it, on it," Blur replied as he began rapidly typing on his console.

"Commander Joule, Commander Zala," Talia then called out.

"Yes Captain," the two FAITH commanders replied.

"I'd like for the two of you to take command of the mobile suit forces after they launch," Talia requested, knowing she had no authority over either one of them, even though she herself was an operative of FAITH.

"With all due respect Captain, I've already decided that it would be better if Commander Joule would command the mobile suit forces," Athrun replied. "He's more up to date on the current strengths and capabilities of Z.A.F.T. mobile suits, and he has more experience than me in command, so Yzak is better suited for the job."

"Understood, but all the same, would you at least consider acting as his second in command," Talia then asked.

Athrun smiled before he simply said, "Aye-aye Captain."

A minute after Yzak and Athrun had closed the communication with the bridge, they had raced for their machines, and Yzak told Athrun, "You and Shinn head out first, I'll follow along from behind with Dearka to act as a first line of defense for the _Minerva_ while Lunamaria and Rey remain on standby for action, just to be safe."

"You got it Yzak," Athrun replied as he climbed into the Justice, and soon enough, both Gundams were moved to the respective catapult decks. Athrun then opened a line to the Core Splendor and informed Shinn, "After we launch, Yzak will be taking over the role of combat commander with me as his second in command. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Shinn replied with a quick salute. A few moments later, the Force Impulse, the Justice, and Yzak and Dearka's Zakus had all launched from the _Minerva_, with the last two taking up positions on the deck. Following them soon after were Smokescreen, Tracks, and Springer, and after they had launched, Sentinel requested the Protectobots to report to stations they would assume on the ship, feeling that there was a high chance that they would not need their combiner team to head out today due to the fact that their sensors did not detect any of the Stunticons.

It was not a moment after they had launched that the Gundams and the three Autobots had found themselves under fire from the attacking Windams, the Chaos, and a custom Windam, Tracks quickly backtracked to provide support to the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ while the Justice and Springer found themselves immediately facing off with the Chaos and Blitzwing, leaving Shinn and Smokescreen to deal with the remaining forces, among which were Cyclonus, Thrust, and even Snowcat, who had made his way to them via an ice bridge that he created from his cannons.

It was not a problem for Athrun and Springer to handle their opponents, as Athrun quickly proved as he evaded the Chaos effortlessly with the Justice's thrusters before firing his beam rifle on the transforming mobile suit, and Springer was able to evade his fellow triple changer easily enough and return fire. At one point, the Chaos tried to launch his weapon pods to throw the Justice off balance, but the Justice was quick to retaliate by detaching its own wing pack to evade the blasts, and then quickly swooped in as Athrun opened fire with both the Justice's beam rifle, and the wing pack's own weapons as well, effectively turning the tables on the Chaos's strategy. Springer was able to handle Blitzwing almost just as effortlessly, as he found a way to take advantage of the enemy triple changer's multiple personalities to cause him to fall off balance, right to the point that Blitzwing changed into his tank mode and fell from the sky into the water, allowing Springer the chance to assume his robot mode and fire on Blitzwing while he was vulnerable.

As they fired at the enemies that were approaching the two ships that were above water, Yzak and Dearka made sure to watch the whole battlefield carefully as they could, the former more so than the latter since he was the combat commander, and as he noted Tracks landing atop the _Xanthium_ just as the large Autobot ship's turrets opened fire, Yzak also noted something about Smokescreen and the Impulse as well. "Hey Asuka, what the hell are you doing?! You're too far out," Yzak shouted as his Slash Zaku Phantom tore through some enemy Windams with its battle axe.

"Hey it's not our fault! In case you haven't noticed, we're getting hit from all sides up here," Smokescreen retorted in reply as he tried to fire on Cyclonus. He was extremely grateful that he was using a standard issue flight pack right then, otherwise he would not have stood a chance against his own aerial opponents. The problem was, the kid of Team Sentinel had forgotten one small detail about the standard flight packs.

A fact that Springer noted as he called out, "Smokescreen, watch it! Your flight pack isn't going to last for long if you continue to use it so much!"

Smokescreen would have said something in retort, but unfortunately he had to quickly maneuver out of the way of Snowcat's ice blast, and the minute he did, his flight pack overheated and he found himself falling to the water bellow. Smokescreen was starting to panic, until he spotted the ice road that Snowcat had made and quickly maneuvered himself until he was directly over it. The minute he was close enough, he brought himself around and landed feet first on the icy surface, and then opened fire with his blaster on Thrust.

"Little brat's good at quick thinking, I'll give him that, but he's not good enough to see that he overlooked one small detail," Thrust muttered under his breath, noting how Snowcat was now racing directly for Smokescreen, without the latter even noticing.

Thankfully, he did not need to notice as Snowcat gave himself away with a sudden burst of yodeling, which Shinn overheard. The minute he saw the ice blasting 'Con headed for Smokescreen, Shinn called out, "Smokescreen, watch out!"

Smokescreen immediately spun to see Snowcat heading for him, and quickly turned his phase shifter's dial, setting it to active just in time for Snowcat's freezing blasts to pass right through him. Smokescreen then opened fire on Snowcat while he was still practically at point blank range, but the yodeling Eradicon quickly leaped aside and fired his ice cannons at the ocean again, freezing himself a new path to ski away on. "Scrap," Smokescreen cursed under his breath, having thought that he could have ended at least one Eradicon on his own today and yet still had not had any luck doing so.

He was about to leap onto the ice path and chase after Snowcat, when suddenly, an explosion erupted from underwater that gained everyone's attention. "What just happened," Athrun called out.

_"The _Nyiragongo_'s under attack from the Abyss and Thunderblast,"_ Meyrin immediately replied.

* * *

From where he was on the _Minerva_'s deck, Yzak was snarling in fury both at Shinn's recklessness and at the fact that the enemy had snuck in some under water forces without any of them noticing. The silver haired commander was quick to compose himself as he called out, "Captain Gladys, have Hawke and Za Burrel deploy with equipment for underwater combat! Sentinel, if you can spare anyone to assist them, please do so at once!"

"I've already asked for the Trick-Shot Twins to head out now," Sentinel replied from the _Xanthium_'s bridge.

"Sir, I know that's it not really normal under these circumstances, but I'd like to head out too, with your permission," Blaster suddenly rapped.

Sentinel glanced at Blaster for a minute, wondering what exactly his rapping communications specialist was thinking asking to go out, but he knew that Yzak was right in saying that they needed anyone they could get to head out right then, and since Blaster was volunteering, he could not exactly say no. "Very well. But leave one of your Mini-Cons here to take over your post."

"Not necessary sir," Prowl suddenly said as he walked over to Blaster's position. "I'll take over for him, if you will allow it."

"Very well then," Sentinel replied, not having time to argue with anyone right then, and a minute later, Blaster was out the door and headed for the launch bay.

As they were all sending out their underwater combat forces, the _Nyiragongo_ had sent out some of its GOOhNs to intercept the approaching attackers, but Auel and Thunderblast were quick to eliminate them. "Sorry boys, but you're just not in my league," Thunderblast mocked.

"You're completely outmatched," Auel added with a small cackle as he blasted apart one last GOOhN, and he was about to head on to another when his alarms went off. Turning to the source, he saw Lunamaria and Rey's Zakus heading for them with Blaster, Inferno, and Roadblock close behind, the latter two Autobots now equipped with modified rifles that would work underwater.

Thunderblast was not deterred by this though and she quickly assumed her motorboat mode, which she could somehow use just as effectively underwater as she could above water, and opened fire on their attackers, focusing mainly on the Gunner Zaku Warrior as she shouted out, "Hey girl friend!"

"Hey yourself," Lunamaria retorted as she opened fire on the female Eradicon. Each shot that Lunamaria fired hit Thunderblast spot on, which led her into Roadblock's crosshairs, who immediately opened fire after.

"Mean girls are no fun," Thunderblast moaned as she transformed to right herself, never noticing that she was falling into Inferno's line of fire as she did. The fire truck Protectobot was about to fire when he himself was suddenly hit from the side, and he quickly spun around to see Crumplezone heading towards him at surprising speeds given how the large ground based 'Con should not normally be all that great at underwater combat.

"Now I thought that Autobots were above taking cheap shots at a lady," Crumplezone commented as he fired his shoulder cannons at Inferno.

"We are, but I didn't see any lady other than Lunamaria around here," Inferno retorted as he swam out of the way and returned fire.

Roadblock was about to assist his brother, when he too was suddenly attacked by Astrotrain, much to his surprise, and that was when he realized that Lockdown had planned for them to come into the water with the Z.A.F.T. pilots. As he quickly swam out of the way and returned fire on the enemy triple changer, he found himself quickly doubting that Lockdown had planned for Blaster to be there as well, and figured that the rapping communications specialist was going to send out some of Mini-Cons until Blaster suddenly said, "Leave these guys to me you dudes. Time for Blaster to crank up the volume on these fools!"

The minute he heard that over the radio, Sentinel immediately shouted, "Blaster! No music, please! We're in the middle of…"

Sadly, for some at least, Sentinel's pleas came too late, as Blaster had already hit play on his music player, and the sounds of loud rock and roll suddenly filled the water, the battlefield, and the comm. frequencies of everyone in range. Everyone on the side of Z.A.F.T. and the Autobots had instantly covered their ears in an attempt to block out the sound, until Rey noticed something that the others had not yet. "Blaster's music," Rey exclaimed as softly as he could above the music so that he could still be heard.

"I know, it's frying all of our brains as well," Sentinel moaned.

"No, look," Rey shouted, and the minute they did, they saw that the enemy seemed to be falling into confusion and become immobile as though they were either unable to move or something was jamming their controls. That was when our heroes realized that Blaster had modified his speakers to send out a sound wave that would distort enemy communications, sonar, and other systems all at once, and since he was underwater the signal was somehow amplified to affect everyone on the battlefield.

"Well how about that. Blaster's music is actually being a bit of help for once," Chromia commented as she fired her turret at a swarm of Eradicon drones.

* * *

Seeing that his forces were nearing their limits, Neo was quick to engage the Impulse on his own with Thrust following after him to engage Smokescreen, but the minute Blaster's music had started going off, they quickly beat a hasty retreat, which lead to Shinn and Smokescreen giving chase. "Hey, what're you two doing?! Don't break ranks like that," Yzak shouted, but unfortunately, his shouts were either not heard or just ignored by the two as they continued to chase after their two enemies. "Asuka, Smokescreen! I said get back here!"

"Relax, we can take 'em," Shinn quickly waved off as he fired the Impulse's beam rifle both at Neo's Windam and the ones that were around him, until eventually there were barely any left. The same was quickly said for any Eradicon drones that Smokescreen encountered as he flew after them as well, having now gotten his flight pack back online, but just as they were about to catch up to the two, the Autobot and Gundam pilot were suddenly hit from the side and knocked into the shallow water by the Gaia and Stinger who seemed to come out of nowhere. "Where'd they come from," Shinn demanded.

"Who cares? Let's just get them," Smokescreen replied as he slammed a fist into Stinger's face. The Impulse was quick to follow Smokescreen's lead and engaged the Gaia, both forcing their opponents inland, until Smokescreen caught sight of something from the corner of his optics. "Is that…a base?"

Shinn looked to see that Smokescreen was right. There was indeed an Earth Forces base all the way out here, but what really stuck out was that it appeared to still be under construction, and the Earth Forces were forcing civilians to build it, that is assuming the fact that the civilian workers trying to run was anything to go by. The next thing the two saw horrified both of them, as they witnessed the Earth Forces soldiers suddenly open fire on the fleeing civilians and kill them instantly. "Those bastards," Shinn growled in anger before he brought up his shield to block the Gaia's next attack.

* * *

Back at the main battlefield, Neo could clearly see that there was now no way that they could win this fight and called out, "Attention Jones, we're withdrawing! Get ready to meet us! Auel, Sting, Stella, we're finished here! We're leaving!"

_"How come,"_ Auel demanded, clearly annoyed.

"Because all the guys we borrowed were wiped out, and the enemy found the base we're still building."

_"Would you care to explain how this happened Roanoke,"_ Lockdown demanded.

"It doesn't matter now, besides it's not like any of us took out any big targets ourselves," Roanoke retorted.

_"Fine then! We'll get one, party pooper,"_ Thunderblast cut in.

* * *

The minute she had said that, Thunderblast and the Abyss both transformed and jetted off towards the _Nyiragongo_, and the minute they did, Inferno and Roadblock quickly chased after them, firing their rifles as they went, but unfortunately, even the Trick-Shot Twins had their limits, and they were completely unable to do anything more than watch as the two enemy units opened fire and took out the _Nyiragongo_. Everyone from Z.A.F.T. and Sentinel's crew could only glare towards their enemies in anger for this action, and then give a salute of respect to their fallen allies while the Earth Forces and Eradicons beat a hasty retreat.

After another moment of respectful silence for their fallen comrades, Yzak called out, "Somebody tell me where the hell Asuka and Smokescreen are?! We need to fall back as well and head out for Gibraltar."

"I'm sending out Evac and Drift to join Springer and Athrun in locating them now," Sentinel replied as the leader of the Protectobots and the sword wielding Wrecker headed out with the Justice and Springer following them shortly after.

* * *

Athrun and the search team were only looking for a few hours when they finally spotted Smokescreen and the Impulse firing at an Earth Forces base that was still under construction, and it was clear to even a blind man that the two were completely dominating the battle, if one could even call it that at that point. "What do you two think you're doing," Athrun shouted. "They can't fight back anymore! Stand down!"

"Smokescreen, stand down now! Smokescreen," Springer shouted, but the young Autobot and the Gundam pilot just kept firing on the Earth Forces base.

"Smokescreen you are being ordered to stand down now," Evac shouted.

"Shut it," Smokescreen immediately retorted in anger, something that none of the three Autobots had ever heard in Smokescreen's voice. That was obviously a clear sign that whatever his reasons for doing this, it was something that had clearly made him angry. A minute later, the two finally ceased firing and made their way over to fences that the civilian workers had gathered around, causing said civilians to scatter in fear. Seeing that it was clear, they both grabbed one of the fences and yanked them out of the ground, throwing the remains of the metal barriers on the ground a minute after they had. The people all looked on in fear for another moment until Smokescreen looked to one family with a kind smile and said, "It's okay, you're all safe now. Go on and get out of here while you have the chance."

The effect of the Autobot's words was almost immediate as every single person there immediately ran to meet with family and friends that they had been forced to be separated from for a quick, teary reunion and then looked to the two who had just liberated them and gave them both great cheers of thanks, bringing a smile to both Shinn and Smokescreen's faces.

* * *

Later that day, as the sun was setting, Shinn and Smokescreen's moment of pride was quickly dashed when they received a hard smack from Yzak and Springer respectively. "You bastards! What the hell were you thinking out there," Yzak demanded. "Defying orders from superiors, going off half-cocked like that on your own, are you trying to get yourselves killed or pulled from your positions?!"

"Look, if you want to hit me, then go right ahead," Shinn retorted angrily. "We didn't do a damn thing wrong. All we did was help those people that were being held against their will by the Earth Forces!"

"Why you insubordinate, little…" Yzak growled as he drew his hand back once more.

"Go ahead and prove his point, but it's not like we could've stopped those guys from driving us away from you all! Maybe if you gave better orders, we would've found the base and been able to help those people sooner," Smokescreen cut it. His words did little more than earn him another smack across the face from Springer in response.

"Stop acting like a child! We're in the middle of a war, and you know full well that Autobots do not harm humans, even if we think they deserve it," Springer shouted, immediately causing Smokescreen to glance down in shame, having now realized he had nearly forgotten that in his moment of rage earlier.

Shinn was about to retort on Smokescreen's behalf, and Yzak was preparing to smack the young pilot in response, when they both felt Athrun place a hand on each of their shoulders. "Look Shinn, I'll admit that what you did was good in the sense that you kept the enemy from completing a base so close to Carpentaria and freed the people that were being held there, but the way you guys went about it was wrong," Athrun calmly explained. "War isn't some game where you can just go around playing the damn hero, so don't go throwing your power around at others recklessly, otherwise it will lead to you becoming the villain in the eyes of others. If you truly want to be a Gundam pilot and possess all that power, then you need to take responsibility for it."

Having said everything that needed to be said, the two FAITH commanders headed to the locker room to change out of their pilot suits before assisting with maintenance and repairs on their mobile suits while the Autobot commanders went off as well, leaving everyone else with a lot to think about, especially in the case of Shinn and Smokescreen.

* * *

**_AN: [laughing hysterically] Ah, I needed that. Anyways, sorry I wasn't able to say much at the beginning there, but as you could tell, I had other matters to deal with. That being said, sorry for the long wait in this story's update, but with all the hype that's been on the rise for Avengers: Age of Ultron, which is now practically just around the corner, I found myself completely wrapped up in writing my newest story Code: Avengers, which will also be updated very soon. So just so that I'm clear, I do intend to have at least one more update for this story by tomorrow before I do another period of updates for Code: Avengers, and go back and forth between these two stories like that for a while, including a monthly update for Gundam War Online, so be sure to check out both of these other stories, including the newest one which is Code: Avengers, if you haven't already._**

**_Cagalli: Now can we answer reviews? Like this one from "CBOperative4"?_**

**_AN: I was getting to that. In answer to the previously mentioned question, as much as I loved Knight Optimus Prime and the Knight Temenos from Age of Extinction, I'm afraid that neither will be likely to make an appearance in this story._**

**_Bumblebee: The only other review I can see that we need to answer is these ones from "Seeker213"_**

**_AN: Ah yes, the one asking about the Arch Destiny Gundam. While I will agree that the Destiny Gundam has its flaws, I will not be having the Arch Destiny Gundam appearing in it's place. The reasons being, I watched the video on it, and the guy was just plain irritating to listen to as he ranted on and on about how great and amazing and how much an improvement the Arch Destiny was over the classic Destiny, and to listen to that for an hour? No thank you! Sorry if I've hurt anyone's feelings, but that's just how it is. Plus, there's also the reason you pointed out that like you said, the Arch Destiny was a Gundam that they figured would've been used if Shinn had gotten the right character development he should have in SEED Destiny, but as you can probably see, that's not going to be the case here since Shinn is a different person than he was in the original SEED Destiny continuity. There will be a new variant on the Destiny Gundam that I came up with, and it may or may not be similar to the Arch Destiny since I will admit that it is impressive, but I unfortunately I can't bring it in without having the original Destiny Gundam in there first, because really, how can you have a variant of something without an original being made in the continuity first._**

**_Luna: Wow, that's quite a long rant there._**

**_Shinn: [Says with a slight slur and dizziness] Not really surprising when you think about it._**

**_Luna: [Looks at Shinn and then gasps at seeing him in a complete mess] Shinn! What happened to you?_**

**_Shinn: Hey Luna, I've gotta go talk the scwewy wabbit weal quick. [walks over to author and talks in a near perfect Daffy Duck impression] You're despicable. [Promptly faints]_**

**_AN: [Smirks broadly in victory] Well, I think he's learned his lesson for the moment. So, onto the preview!..._**

**_The _****Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ arrive at the Mahamul base and prepare to plan for action on how to fly through to Gibraltar, while the original Earth/Autobot duo of the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ continue to try to gather information so that they may glean even the tiniest hint of what Sentinel Prime and Chairman Durandal, and Lockdown and the Earth Forces are truly planning. When the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot team finally head out to take action, what sort of plan will the two teams be able to form in order to break through the forces that oppose them, and can this operation allow Shinn and Smokescreen the chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of their comrades? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_Chapter 9: Struggles to Triumph_. Impulse, Smokescreen, smash your way through to make up for your past mistakes!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	9. Struggles to Triumph

_**AN: Hey everybody, we are back for another chapter of Destiny Sentinels! Now I will go ahead and say that I'll be going back to updating Code: Avengers for a while, and I know you guys don't want me to, but the ideas for that story are really dominate in my mind right now, since I said last chapter, I've found myself swept up in the rising Avengers hype that has been brought on by the upcoming movie The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and can you blame me, I mean have you guys seen the newest trailer for it yet? Totally awesome! Ahem, anyways, I don't want you guys to feel like I'm neglecting this story, because I will be back on it once again after a few days, and try to get around to the monthly update for Gundam War Online**__**, but in the meantime, I'm going to give you guys a little sneak preview in a rare moment of spoilers from me of something that is to come in this story of the Cybertron Cosmic Era, or should I say, some**_**one_._**

**_While they may not come from the timeline of the Cosmic Era, they are very much Gundam Heroes themselves. They are the final heroes of the Universal Century, and the two who helped the people of that age take the first steps to righting the wrongs of the Universal Century, give it up for the Princess of Zeon and the master of the beast of possibility, Mineva Lao Zabi, alias Audrey Burne, and the pilot of the Unicorn Gundam Banagher Links!_**

**_[hits control and audience applause goes off as the song "Unicorn" from the Gundam Unicorn Soundtrack begins playing as the Unicorn Gundam lands on the stage and Banagher and Audrey climb out to grab a seat next to AN]_**

**_Audrey: Hello everyone, and thank you for that warm and kind welcome lyokoMARVELanime._**

**_Banagher: I honestly did not expect to appear in these until after we finally made our debut in this story, but it's great to be here early._**

**_AN: Banagher and Audrey, it's okay if I call you Audrey right?_**

**_Audrey: It's fine._**

**_AN: Okay just checking, anyways, welcome to the set. So how about you guys give a little bit about your roles here without saying too much._**

**_Banagher: Well, I can't really say all that much about myself personally, but I will say that I won't be piloting the Unicorn when I appear, and that I will be appearing alongside Audrey when I do, and we will be in a relationship by that time._**

**_Audrey: As for myself, all I can say is that my role is actually rather similar to that of the role I played during the final stages of the Universal Century. I'm referring specifically to the time when I met Banagher. Aside from that, all I can really tell everyone is that our roles are actually rather minor in this story and will be further expanded upon in the sequel to this story, which will also be the third and final story of the Cybertron Cosmic Era._**

**_AN: Well said both of you. Now I know you all are probably expecting Shinn to come in here and try to give something away, only for me to shout "DAH! SPOILER!" and hit a control to shut him up in some hilarious way, or at least hilarious in my opinion, but unfortunately it seems we don't have time for that right now. [cries anime tears for a minute] Oh well, there's always the ending note and next chapter. Roll out!_**

**_I do not own anything from any of the Gundam or Transformers franchises, including Gundam Unicorn, or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Struggles to Triumph**

Just outside the Kingdom of Scandinavia, the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ were both continuing their efforts to gather any kind of intelligence they could to help them in figuring out what exactly was going on that would explain the actions of Sentinel Prime's team, Chairman Durandal, and the Earth Alliance, but sadly, the only way they could gather any information was through the news reports from around the world, and unfortunately, those news reports were not very much help. "Same old, same old," Waltfeld commented as they looked on at the news stories for that day on the _Omega II_ with Optimus, Elita, Bumblebee, Arcee, Silverbolt, and Hound. "Everyday we're stuck with the same gloomy news stories."

"Would it kill these people to report some good news once in a while, just to change things up a little," Aisha asked in agreement with her lover.

Natarle smirked a little as she asked, "Perhaps something like a white dolphin in an aquarium having a cute little baby?"

"Well, maybe not that cheerful," Waltfeld chuckled, finding the fact that Natarle's constantly improving sense of humor to be surprisingly uplifting.

"Still, this news is kind of strange," Cagalli commented, bringing all seriousness back into the conversation when she did.

"Cagalli's right," Arcee added. "There's not one story running that involves fighting against the PLANTs or the 'despicable Autobots'. All we seem to get in the way of human news involves turmoil within the Alliance."

"And as for the PLANTs, these days it's nothing but stuff like this, unfortunately," Silverbolt piped in a slightly disgusted tone as he brought up one such news report from the PLANTs that was really just a broadcast of the fake Lacus Clyne performing one of Lacus's classic songs. The only difference was that the song was now in a different key and the performance that went along with it was something that the real Lacus would never normally do, which was exactly the reason for Silverbolt's disgusted tone.

Lacus herself had barely kept a scowl off her face at the sight of this imposter practically mocking a mockery of her and messing with her image, but she was not able to keep the edge out of her voice as she said, "Well everyone seems to be having fun anyway."

"Doesn't mean that they should keep going with this abomination that they call a suitable stand-in for you, Lacus," Elita snarled, clearly pissed off about the whole thing since she and Lacus had become so close in recent years. "Just give me five minutes up there, and I'll set things straight."

"Whoa, easy there Elita," Hound cautioned. "We all want to do something, but we can't just go out there guns blazing carelessly like we own the place."

"He's right, after all, a careless move on our part would give our location away to the wrong people," Waltfeld added in. "Needless to say, that wouldn't be a good thing to have happen to us now, and it could get tense for the Kingdom of Scandinavia considering they're hiding us."

"Yeah, that would be bad," Kira agreed.

"Still, Elita's right in what she says. We can't just keep hiding at the bottom of the ocean like a bunch of oysters in their shells," Natarle argued. "We've got to at the very least do something about the situation in Orb."

"We all know that, but we can't move just yet when there's too much that we don't know," Bumblebee immediately disputed. The fact that Bumblebee was saying this meant that they had to obviously be doing the right thing by not moving just yet, because when it came to scouting, every Autobot on Team Optimus Prime had long since agreed that there was no one better at the job than Bumblebee.

"Earth definitely suffered a lot of damage from the fall of Junius Seven, but ever since then, the PLANTs seem to be acting with the best of intentions," Murrue then voiced aloud. "The allied nations look like idiots for going to war at the drop of a hat."

"But Captain, wasn't that Blue Cosmos who did that," Natarle asked.

"Probably," Murrue conceded. "But consider, after that first unbelievable attack, Chairman Durandal didn't launch a hasty counterattack, calmed everyone down from the council to the citizens, and fought a strictly defensive war on the smallest scale he possibly could. If you just consider those actions alone, he doesn't seem all that bad."

"I agree with your sentiments on that matter Murrue Ramius," Optimus then said. "And on the surface it would appear that Sentinel's position is very much the same, given that the only actions he has been reported to have taken are in keeping with Chairman Durandal's position and the ideals of the Autobots."

"And yet there's still the whole thing that happened back in Orb where Coordinators and Autobots attacked Lacus," Hound reminded them all.

"You know, when I met Chairman Durandal, I believed he was a good leader," Cagalli suddenly piped in before she lowered her head sadly. "Or rather, I thought he was."

"Trust me Cagalli, you're not alone there, because I honestly thought the same thing," Bumblebee reassured the blonde leader of Orb. "And the fact that he was so welcoming and kind towards me while most of the other world leaders are less…hospitable to Autobots really helped enforce that belief."

Cagalli nodded to Bumblebee in thanks for what he said, and then continued, "But then I learned about the attempt on Lacus's life and these…concerts, if that's what you want to call them. Athrun trusted him too, even if not entirely, and that's why he went back to the PLANTs."

"Maybe, but who gave the order to have Lacus killed," Kira asked as he glanced back at the monitor with an angered glare. "And then there's this. I don't believe what this Durandal guy says. He's tricking everyone."

"Well, you could say that tricking people is what politics is all about," Jazz told them as he walked into the room. The minute he heard the sounds of the fake Lacus's concert, he immediately made a face and said, "Could you guys at least mute that if nothing that's actually useful is being said or done in it?"

"With pleasure," Elita muttered as she did just as Optimus's second in command suggested.

"I myself must admit, that I cannot see him not being involved in this," Optimus then confessed as he threw a glance at the monitor as well, hiding a glare that only Kira and Elita One could see. "And despite our history together, I honestly cannot see how Sentinel could not be involved in this either. It is certainly strange trying to understand what the two are thinking through these actions, and even if we were able to gain any Intel from our Z.A.F.T. allies, I doubt that we would be able to make any more sense of it."

"But you know, after seeing the deplorable situation in Western Eurasia, somehow I can't help but want to take Z.A.F.T. and Sentinel's side and teach the Earth Forces a lesson," Murrue suddenly pointed out.

Natarle nodded in agreement with her friend before she turned to both Optimus and Kira and asked, "But you two are still against all that, aren't you?"

"Yes, we are," Optimus and Kira both replied.

Everyone was silent for a minute until Cagalli finally broke the silence in an attempt to raise everyone's hopes saying, "Let's just hope that Athrun's having a better time figuring things out from his end than we are, and that when he finally finds a way to either contact us or come back to us, we'll be able to get a better understanding of what's happening on Z.A.F.T. and Sentinel's end of this."

"Don't you mean if he finds a way to either contact us or come back," Hound asked.

"No, I mean when," Cagalli insisted heatedly, as she refused to believe otherwise. She then crossed her arms and looked out into space as she wondered aloud, "I wonder what Athrun's up to these days when he's not trying to find answers that is."

Kira glanced at Cagalli for a minute before he too lowered his head in thought, wondering just what his childhood best friend was doing when he was not trying to find answers right now.

* * *

At that same moment aboard the _Minerva_, Athrun himself let out a small sneeze as he made his way through the ship to the airlock with Yzak, Commander Trine, and Captain Gladys so that they could meet with the commanders of the Mahamul Base. "Gesundheit," Yzak told his friend. "You getting a cold or something?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Athrun reassured him as they continued on their way, never noticing that Shinn was watching the two veterans as they went.

"Would you stop staring at them," Lunamaria scolded her friend. "Look, I get how you must be feeling Shinn. First Commanders Joule and Elsman just drop onto our ship and take command of our mobile suit forces, then Athrun comes back as your superior, and ends up as a member of FAITH along with Commander Joule. Plus the latter's given you a couple of smacks to boot while the former practically let him and lectured you like a little kid, but the fact is that's just how things are. You're just going to have to accept that sometimes things aren't going to be the way you want them to be."

"I know that Luna," Shinn half-snapped at his friend. "But it's got nothing to do with that, so just shut up about stuff you don't know."

"Well with that attitude it's hard to tell," Lunamaria retorted. "Whatever's bugging you about it, you know you can at least tell me if you don't talk to the commanders about it."

"Look, I appreciate the thought, but just back off alright. It's has nothing to do with you," Shinn calmly told the girl before he walked away to do some work on the Impulse, only making a mild note of Lunamaria's annoyed growl in response to his words as he did.

* * *

During the conversation between the two, Athrun and the other commanders of the _Minerva_ had disembarked from the ship along with Sentinel and his own command staff to meet with the commanders of the Mahamul Base. The moment Athrun and Yzak had introduced themselves, the soldiers that were meeting them immediately began whispering excitedly, and that only increased upon seeing Sentinel, Chromia, Evac, and Crosshairs. The whisperings immediately ceased when the commander, one Joachim Ruddle, brought their attention back to the matter at hand by introducing himself and then leading the four off to meet and discuss their plans for an upcoming operation for taking Suez.

"With the fighting strength they have at Suez, we can't afford to go in carelessly," Ruddle explained the minute they were all gathered in a meeting room, with the Autobots all using their holo-forms to participate. Each of their holo-forms wore a Z.A.F.T. uniform that held their colors in them and all had blue eyes, while the only differences between each of them was how they appeared age wise, the fact that Chromia's was a female with shoulder length dark silver hair, and Sentinel's had a small goatee.

"If we want to take care of Suez, we should just do a descent operation from orbit, that's what we did in the last war," Ruddle then said. "But for some reason, the council will not approve that particular plan."

"Not surprising really," Sentinel commented. "After telling the world that you don't want to acquire new territory and that your fighting a purely defensive war, it's only natural that they would disapprove such a course of action."

"Well, nobody wants to recklessly escalate the conflict, and I fully support the policies of Chairman Durandal and the supreme council," Ruddle assured Sentinel, just missing the small smirk that appeared on the Prime's face when he did unlike Athrun and Yzak. "But because we're trying to play nice, the enemy is getting away with murder."

"What exactly do you mean by that," Evac inquired.

Ruddle then indicated a few points on the map in front of him as he explained it to the _Minerva_ commanders and the Autobots. "You can safely assume that the Earth Forces are planning to use Suez as a base to launch an all-out attack on us here at Mahamul," Ruddle told them. "Then they would swing back across the Mediterranean and destroy our Gibraltar base, but right now they're unable to do that. And why not?"

"Because of the western region of Eurasia," Crosshair's answered.

"Exactly, Mister Crosshairs," Ruddle confirmed. "Now that we control both the Indian Ocean and Gibraltar, keeping this stretch of land from here to the canal stable is a top priority for the Earth Forces."

"Otherwise Suez would be cut off," Chromia finished.

"Very perceptive. I can see why Sentinel has you as his second in command Miss Chromia," Ruddle complimented.

"Thank you, and please, just call me Chromia."

"Right, of course." Having said that, Ruddle hit a control on the table that adjusted the map to display a three dimensional map of Suez itself and the area around it as he continued his briefing. "As I had previously said, it's just as Chromia had put it, and therefore, they're trying to maintain their supply lines into Suez and suppress resistance activities in Eurasia. In order to accomplish this, they've forcibly established a bridge head here, at the Gulnahan power plant. As a result, resistance forces in the area have been subjected to repeated attacks from central Eurasia. The resistance hasn't been able to move very far into the south, and it's current situation is rather difficult."

"So what you're saying is," Athrun began to observed aloud, just make sure he was hearing right. "Wiping them out here will not only cut the lines to Suez, but we'll be supporting the resistance movement as well."

"And as a result we'll be indirectly striking another blow at the Earth Forces," Yzak quickly finished, having been thinking the same thing himself.

"Correct, that's a good summation," Ruddle confirmed. "But the enemy is fully aware of this as well. Obviously they're not going to make it easy for us to attack them. The only way to approach them is through this ravine. Naturally, they've anticipated this, and to defend the approach they've placed a positron cannon here together with a monstrous mobile armor fully equipped with reflectors."

"I take it that means you have already made an attempt and failed," Evac asked.

"You would assume correctly," Ruddle replied sadly. "And the results were regrettable. However, with the strength of both the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ with us, perhaps now…"

"And there's the rub," Talia sighed. "Our orders are to head for Gibraltar, but to do that, we're going to have to go through this little mess first."

"It would certainly seem that way," Sentinel agreed. "Essentially, we're now here to help clear a path."

"Oh well, if we're told it's our job, then I guess, so be it," Talia finally said with a smile. With that said, they all agreed to discuss the finer details and exact time of the operation at a later time, and the ship commanders were all dismissed to their respective vessels for the moment.

* * *

That night, Athrun was simply wandering the ship thinking about how things had been developing, and wondering how Kira, Optimus, Cagalli, and the others were doing without him. It seemed that the more things he tried to do in order to help, the more they got confusing and difficult for him and the others. Combine that with the fact that his nightmares seemed to have begun to get a little worse since talking to Yzak about them, and needless to say, Athrun was beyond exhausted. Though all this was going through his mind and he felt walking around the ship would help him work through it, there was another reason for his wandering the ship, and soon enough, he had reached the upper deck and smiled the minute he found who he was looking for.

"I thought I'd find you up here," Athrun told Shinn as he approached the younger pilot who was standing by the guard rail. Athrun then looked to see Smokescreen was actually standing close by as well, and was obviously within hearing distance of the two, indicating that they might have been talking or musing about things together before he arrived.

"How exactly did you figure on that," Shinn asked, truly curious on how the veteran pilot had figured out where he was, and wondering if he knew Smokescreen was there as well.

"When I was on Earth and felt confused or frustrated about something, I would often come to the upper deck as well to try and clear my thoughts," Athrun explained. "There was just something about doing it outside in the fresh air of Earth that seemed to help me think, especially at times like this, ya know?"

Shinn stared at Athrun for a moment before he finally nodded telling him that he knew exactly what Athrun meant when he said that. The two just stood there in silence for a moment, with nothing but the sounds of the harbor at night and Smokescreen having a small energon drink he had with him resonating between them, until Shinn finally asked, "Is there something you needed, Commander?"

Athrun looked to Shinn for a second before he finally replied, "I just wanted to see how you two were doing after what happened back in the Indian Ocean. I get that you think you both did right and freeing those people from captivity, and I'm not saying that doing so was wrong, but the way you went about it wasn't the way to do things. I know I've probably said this already, but I just wanted to make sure you don't think I was trying to lecture you like some kids."

Shinn eventually nodded as he said, "No, I didn't really think that. At least, not entirely, but it's just that, after seeing how Bulkhead had saved me and my family at Onogoro Island, I've wanted to do what I could to help others and being a soldier was the best way to do that."

"I understand that, and if you're upset about you're little confrontation with Yzak, then don't let it get to you too much. He may not say it, but Yzak really does care about the people under his command. He just shows it more through his actions than his words, assuming you know what to look for," Athrun reassured the Impulse pilot. "Though, I have to ask, that time in Onogoro, was that when you got the idea?"

"What idea," Shinn asked.

"You know, the moment when you said to yourself, 'If only I had more power. I need more power'," Athrun explained. "Everyone who's ever felt weak, inferior, or just the burning need to protect something with all their might after some kind of event has always had those thoughts at one point or another."

"Including you, since I'm assuming that you're speaking from experience," Shinn guessed.

"Yeah, that's right," Athrun confirmed. He then lowered his head as he then warned Shinn, "But the minute you acquire all that power, if you're not careful, then you'll become someone who ends up destroying others, and that's especially true when you start throwing that power around recklessly. By that point, you might as well be a destroyer, and that's not what either of you are."

Smokescreen knew that Athrun was speaking to him just as much as he was Shinn, and he had to agree with what the Justice pilot was saying, even if he did not voice it aloud like Shinn did. "No, I'm not, and I don't ever want to be."

"Well then, let's leave it at that," Athrun told Shinn happily. "As long as you don't forget what I told you, and make sure you never lose sight of what you're fighting for, why you're fighting, and how, then you'll be one hell of a pilot someday, but if you do forget then you're a damned idiot."

Shinn chuckled for a moment after that, and then he and Athrun both eventually began laughing together, which even got Smokescreen smiling. The young Autobot continued to watch the two for another minute until Athrun said, "I get that you want to do all you can to help us Smokescreen, but try to keep in mind that humans aren't as tough as Cybertronians physically even if we do seem to be in spirit and courage. Just remember, as long as you keep true to the real Autobot cause, then you may very well end up as one of the greatest of them someday. Of that, I'm sure."

Smokescreen looked at Athrun in surprise for a minute, until finally he nodded in thanks for the pilots words, and with that, the small group of three began to disperse and return to their quarters on their respective ships for the night, knowing that they had a big day ahead of them the following morning and they would need all the rest they could get before the _Minerva_ and the_Xanthium_ headed out the next day.

* * *

The following day, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ were at the lead of a small Z.A.F.T. force that was to take out the Earth Forces base in Gulnahan with cooperation from the resistance, and the pilots of the _Minerva_ were gathered in the meeting room with the Autobots Sentinel, Chromia, Evac, Crosshairs, and Smokescreen joining the meeting via a holo-imaging communicator. A minute after Shinn and his friends had arrived, Athrun, Yzak, and Arthur Trine entered the room with a young girl along with them, a sight that honestly shocked Shinn as this girl seemed like she was barely anywhere near the same age as his sister.

"Please be seated," Arthur then ordered the gathered pilots. "Well, let's get to it then. Commander Joule, if you would?"

Yzak nodded and then immediately took the floor as he began the briefing. "This briefing is to explain the finer details to everyone on the plan to break through what has come to be known as the Lohengrin Gate in a joint operation with the Ruddle team. I don't think I need to tell you how important this mission is, and I will not lie to you and say that it won't be any less difficult, but what I will say is that the Ruddle team has made an attempt once already with unfortunate results. I know that's not something any of you would want to hear, but I can assure you that this time around, things will be different. Athrun?"

Athrun gave Yzak a quick nod as the lights went out and the projector displayed an image of the town and the ravine that had previously been mentioned, and he began explaining the simple version of their plan, seeing as that was all they had time to give. "This is an overhead view of Gulnahan and the ravine known as Lohengrin Gate. The town lies just beyond this bluff here, and the power plant itself lies just beyond the town. The only way to approach the area is through this rough line through the ravine; however, the enemy has placed a positron cannon high up on the bluff here covering the entire approach. There's no cover of any kind within the ravine and you're in range of the weapon whatever route you take. Even if you decided to shoot from extreme range, say at the battery or the cliff face below it, the area's guarded with mobile suits including a mobile armor equipped with positron reflectors. As a result, setting up for a direct hit is impossible, and it's my understanding that you all encountered a similar mobile armor in the battle you had off the coast of Orb."

"Unfortunately, yeah," Shinn replied sadly, still having a hard time dealing with the fact that his homeland had attacked him and his allies. "So basically for this operation, you guys want us to destroy the mobile armor, blow the hell out of that cannon, and then go into Gulnahan, right?"

"Well yes, that's what we want to do, but now we need to talk about how we're going to accomplish these goals. Any ideas Shinn," Athrun then asked.

Shinn lowered his head in thought for a moment, seeing as Athrun had effectively handed him the floor before he finally looked up and replied, "Well I guess we could try to find some sort of route that the enemy doesn't know about which would put someone directly at the cannon and past the mobile armor's defenses so that they could destroy it while the rest of our forces kept the enemy busy. Of course, it would have to be someone with great piloting skills who could pull off some pretty skilled maneuvers and if they were to have any Autobot backup, then the Autobot would have to be both fast and able to slip through any kind of area as easily as possible, like say one of Blaster's Mini-Cons or something."

Yzak had to allow himself a small smirk at Shinn's well-thought overview on one plan to accomplish the mission and Sentinel gave Shinn a small smile of his own along with a nod of approval. Seeing that he had pretty much nailed their plan on the head, Athrun smirked a bit at Shinn before he asked, "Wow, great plan. Would you mind doing that for us? I'm sure we can handle things back here while you deal with it all, just be sure to let us know when you're done, okay?"

Shinn started at Athrun's sudden request and was about to protest and say that he never said that he should do it, when he noticed the look on Athrun's face, and he instantly knew Athrun was just messing with him. "Oh ha, ha. Very funny," Shinn smirked in reply.

"Well, someone has to be at these things," Dearka commented. "I'm just surprised it wasn't me."

Yzak then coughed and said, "Let's get back on track please? Miss Coniel, could you please give the pilot who just suggested a course of action the date you're carrying?"

"What? This guy," the girl now identified as Coniel exclaimed as she looked at Shinn.

"Yes, him," Yzak confirmed, begrudgingly.

"Is there a problem, Miss Coniel," Sentinel asked from over the holo-comm.

"This whole plan rides on getting a pilot who can handle some really hot flying," Coniel explained, now voicing her uncertainty on whether or not Shinn could pull this off. "Shouldn't one of you two be flying this? I can't afford someone going in and screwing this up, otherwise we might as well kiss my town goodbye."

"I understand your concern Miss Coniel," Yzak told the girl before things could get out of hand, as he could see by the fact that Lunamaria was starting to get annoyed with what their guest was implying about her friend. "To be honest, I actually wanted Athrun to fly this mission, but he insisted that Shinn was the best pilot for the job and his Impulse Gundam was the perfect machine to pull it off in."

Coniel hesitated for a minute before she finally nodded in agreement and then walked over to Shinn to hand him a small data disk that had the information that Athrun had mentioned. Shinn accepted the disk before he turned to Athrun, hardly believing that the veteran had actually recommended _him_ for this mission, and voiced his surprise as he asked, "Sir, are you sure that I can do this? I mean, after what happened in the last battle, I…"

Athrun understood what Shinn was saying and immediately replied, "I know that you're worried about this Shinn, and I don't blame you, but I've seen what you're capable of, and I know for a fact that you're the best pilot for this. As Yzak said, the Impulse is the perfect machine for accomplishing this goal, and there's no one who knows or who can handle that Gundam to its fullest potential better than you."

Shinn stared at Athrun in shock for a moment before he finally nodded in acceptance. Athrun then explained how the plan would work, warning Shinn that he would have to follow the data he was just given to the letter to be able to make it through the cave passage he would be flying through, before he looked to Sentinel and asked who the Prime would be sending in to backup Shinn. "Given the scale of this mission, I've determined that there's really only one Autobot among my crew best suited for this mission," Sentinel replied. His hologram then glanced to that of the Autobot he had chosen. "Smokescreen, we'll be counting on you to ensure Shinn's success."

The youngest member of the _Xanthium_ crew looked at Sentinel in shock after hearing his commander's decision, and he was quick to voice his surprise. "Me, sir? Are you sure?"

"It does make sense actually," Yzak replied. "Sure Blaster's Mini-Con's would fit through that cave much more easily than any of the Autobots, but their small size and lower level of combat strength would make things much more difficult for this part of the mission."

"Exactly, but Smokescreen can get through easily because of one thing he has that the rest of my crew does not," Sentinel then informed them.

"The phase shifter," Athrun filled in. "With it, Smokescreen can slip through any parts of the passage that would normally be impossible for Autobots to get past even if they were in vehicle mode."

Seeing Sentinel nod in confirmation of this, Smokescreen looked around the room through his hologram, seeing the sure faces that were all looking at him and saying that they knew he could do it, until finally he agreed to Sentinel's decision. A minute after this silent moment, the alert sounded that the operation was about to begin. Arthur immediately headed for the bridge and the pilots to their machines, while Sentinel and his crew prepared to end their communication with the ship. Before the Autobots cut the line or Shinn could leave though, the Z.A.F.T. pilot noticed that Coniel still seemed like she had something she wanted to say. "Is there something else," Shinn asked.

Coniel hesitated for a minute before she answered, "The last time Z.A.F.T. attacked the battery, my town paid a terrible price. A rebellion broke out in the town at the same time as the attack, and those who resisted the Earth Forces faced…unspeakable tortures. So many people were killed, and if we fail again, who knows what awful things will happen? That's why that battery must be destroyed. Please, I beg you, do not fail!"

Shinn gave the girl a sad, sympathizing look before he walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. The minute she looked up at him, Shinn smiled and softly said, "I promise you, no matter what happens, I won't fail you or your people."

"That promise holds true for my Autobots and myself as well, Miss Coniel," Sentinel then added. Seeing how sure the two were, Coniel nodded in thanks before everyone headed out to prepare for the battle to come.

* * *

A few minutes later, Shinn was flying towards the cave passage in the Core Splendor with a chest flyer and leg flyer directly behind him, and Smokescreen racing along below him in his white, red, and blue race car mode. After another few minutes, they had the entrance in sight, and they immediately charged in, only to be overwhelmed with how dark it was inside. "It's pitch black in here," Shinn shouted in shock. "Damn it, we're going to have to rely on the data alone!"

"Don't sweat it Shinn," Smokescreen called out as he transformed for a minute to activate his phase shifter and then quickly jumped back into vehicle mode. The minute he was back in vehicle mode, Smokescreen activated his headlights and raised them to their maximum output so that they could have a better view of the path ahead of them.

"Thanks Smokescreen," Shinn called out in small relief.

"Don't thank me yet," Smokescreen warned. "I may be able to light the way a little bit, but I can't do it the whole time since the data said there will be points where I'll need to transform to my bipedal mode, and it's not like we're able to see everything that much better than before. We're still going to have to rely pretty heavily on the data."

Shinn just growled in reply as he quickly swerved the Core Splendor around a tight corner and then blasted up a water fall that Smokescreen jumped over a minute later so he could keep up, thanking Primus that he had already activated his phase shifter since he would have hit the ceiling when he jumped otherwise. "This is crazy! We'll be lucky to make it to the cannon in one piece," Shinn cried out.

"Shinn," Smokescreen suddenly shouted. Shinn glanced at his Autobot partner for the mission in wonder for a minute until Smokescreen finally said, "We can do this. Athrun thinks we can, and Sentinel, and Lunamaria, and Blaster…and so do I! Coniel's home is counting on us, so let's not let her or her people down!"

Shinn stared at the Autobot for a minute before he smirked and replied, "There's not a chance in hell that I was ever planning on letting that happen!"

With that declaration, the two continued to race on to their target's destination, their determination now firmly set, and their prayers with their friends in the hopes that they would be alright and would be able to hold on long enough.

* * *

While the two cave racers were flying through on their treacherous course, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ had launched their forces for the mission. The latter of the two ships had sent out all three Wreckers, Mirage, Sentinel, and the Protectobots, while Chromia assumed command of the ship and Springer, Blur, Tracks, and Blaster manned their stations on the bridge. Sentinel had asked for them to remain on the bridge as he felt that it would be best for the ship's best pilot and tactical officer at the helm and tactical station, those being Springer and Tracks respectively, and as such, Blaster had sent his Mini-Cons out to man the turrets.

A minute after all their forces had launched and they confirmed the enemies approach, the two ships immediately opened fire with their main guns. The blasts were almost instantly intercepted and deflected by the mobile armor, but what the enemy did not realize was that was exactly what the Autobots and their allies were hoping for. After the resulting explosion had caused a large amount of smoke and dust to be stirred up, the teams immediately went into action, as Yzak called out, "Let's go people! We need to lure the enemy mobile suits as far away as possible. Dearka, Za Burrel, you two are with me, Mirage and Sentinel! Athrun, you and Hawke support the Wreckers, but the minute one of you spots the Impulse and Smokescreen, let Athrun and Sentinel know so that they can move to provide them backup."

"Roger that," Lunamaria, Rey, and Dearka responded as they made their way over to their Autobot teams for this mission.

"What about the Protectobots," Athrun then asked as he flew over to fire on an enemy unit that was approaching Crosshairs from behind.

"I think they'll be able to handle themselves," Yzak replied as he glanced over to see said team of Autobots combine into Defensor. The two teams then blasted into action as they opened fire on enemy mobile suits and Eradicon drones alike as Yzak commented to Mirage, "Looks like it's you and me now, Mirage."

"No Human Joule. It is only me," Mirage replied rudely as he slashed apart five Eradicon drones and another four mobile suits with his two arm blades.

"Say what?! You little bastard," Yzak retorted and he quickly vented his anger at Mirage's attitude towards him on the attacking forces that tried to surround him, only to find themselves either slashed in two by his battle axe or blasted by his Gatling Guns.

"Well, they're gonna get along _real_ well," Dearka remarked with a heavy amount of sarcasm as he fired his rifle at some enemies that were approaching Rey from behind. Rey then returned the favor by firing a missile barrage at some enemies that tried to do the same to Dearka, and the two were both then saved from a sneak attack by Sentinel as he slashed through some enemies with his double bladed sword.

Sentinel then brought up his shield to block an incoming attack from some Eradicon drones, finding himself wondering how Lockdown was even able to keep finding or even creating more drones considering how many they normally faced, when he noticed the enemy positron cannon firing on their ships. Thankfully, the two ships were able to evade the blast just in time, but from the way the _Minerva_ slid along the surface of the ground, Sentinel could already tell that there was no way that it was a smooth ride. That was when he saw that the enemy mobile armor was attempting to fall back and he immediately called out, "Lunamaria, Athrun! The mobile armor is attempting to retreat!"

"We're on it," Crosshairs replied. "Drift, give me a lift!"

"Understood," Drift replied as he assumed his helicopter mode and lifted Crosshairs into the sky above the battlefield. The enemy mobile suits tried to intercept, but they were quickly knocked out of the sky by the Justice's beam boomerang along with a blast from Lunamaria's cannon. The minute he was close enough, Crosshairs immediately released his hold on Drift and dropped down before he opened a set of parachutes, pulled out his pistols, and opened fire on the enemy, destroying nearly all of them in at least one or two shots.

"Wow, he wasn't kidding when he said that he was the best paratrooper in the Autobots," Athrun commented in amazement.

"No kidding," Lunamaria agreed as she fired her cannon again, not noticing an enemy trying to approach her behind. The minute she did, he was already intercepted by Drift's first sword and then slashed apart by his second blade. "Thanks Drift," Lunamaria called out.

"You are most welcome my lady," Drift replied as he deflected some shots with the blades. The battle continued to heat up as Defensor smashed apart a small team of enemy units with his fists and quickly followed up with firing on them with both Prowl's twin blaster and the Trick-Shot Twins' combined rifles, when suddenly an explosion was heard from the area beneath the enemy cannon.

"It's Shinn and Smokescreen! They made it," Lunamaria shouted as soon as she saw the Core Splendor and two flyers combine into the Impulse Gundam and Smokescreen transform to his bipedal mode. Having heard her cry, the Justice and Sentinel immediately raced over to the enemy mobile armor and their allies so that they could engage the enemy unit and support the two in any way that they could.

Athrun struck first as he threw the Justice's beam boomerang with all his might, hitting the mobile armor's left arm, and then quickly followed up with a slash from both of his beam sabers, further disabling the enemy machine. Sentinel then raced over to Smokescreen's side in his fire truck mode before he transformed and slammed his fist into an attacking mobile suit and then whipped out an Ion Cannon to fire on the enemies that were approaching from his left, while Smokescreen fired at the ones on his right, still using his phase shifter to allow the blasts to pass right through him. The Impulse quickly followed up on their actions by shooting down some enemy units in the air as he leaped over to the positron cannon, which was beginning to lower into the safety of its shelter. The minute the Prime noticed this and that the Impulse had lost its beam rifle, he reached for his double bladed sword with his free hand and called out, "Shinn, catch!"

Shinn looked just in time to see Sentinel's weapon flying towards him, and he immediately spun his mobile suit to block an incoming barrage of enemy fire with his shield as he caught the blade. The minute Sentinel's sword was in the Impulse's hand, the Gundam jumped into the air with all the thrust it could manage and tossed its shield away before spinning the blade over its head just as it would the sword silhouette's anti-ship blades when they were combined into one weapon. When the machine landed right next to where the cannon was, the Impulse was quick to slash apart one of the remaining two mobile suits guarding the cannon with Sentinel's sword and quickly stabbed the second one with the blade before using the weapon to throw it over the Impulse's head and into the chamber the cannon was descending into. The minute he was sure that it was in there, Shinn fired his machine's Vulcan guns, further damaging the enemy suit just to the point he wanted it to be at, and let it fall into the chamber onto the cannon.

"Sentinel, Smokescreen, Justice! Get clear now! The place is going to blow," Shinn shouted as he blasted away from where the cannon had disappeared to. Sentinel immediately heard his call, and quickly turned around and transformed to vehicle mode with Smokescreen right behind him, and the Justice soon after as it finished off the enemy mobile armor just as the Earth Forces base exploded, signifying to everyone that their mission was a success.

* * *

Later that same day, Kup, Chromia, and Blur had raced into Gulnahan to see how the people were fairing, only to find some of the citizens about to execute the Earth Forces soldiers. Thinking quickly, Kup immediately transformed to his bipedal mode with Blur and Chromia right behind him and shouted out, "Stop!" The minute he saw that he had the people's attention, Kup went on to say, "If you kill them like this, then you'll be no better than these wiper snappers."

"So what, we just let them go," one man in the crowd then demanded.

"No, don't let them leave without punishment," Chromia replied. "Let them leave with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, and allow them to send a message to the Alliance that will say just how wrong an idea it is to mess with you, your land, and your people. Show them that you will not bow down to their ways, and that you will never submit no matter what happens!"

Chromia's words immediately got all of the people cheering in agreement and excitement and they quickly did just that, with the help of the _Xanthium_ Autobots who had just arrived a moment ago. By the time the _Minerva_, Sentinel, and the rest of the attack forces had arrived, they were just in time to witness the fruits of their labors as the Earth Forces soldiers ran out of town like the scum they were. The people had just finished burning the last of the flags for the Earth Alliance when they saw the Impulse and the Justice land, with Sentinel and Smokescreen rolling up from behind them a moment later, and excited cheers of thanks and congratulations were quick to reach the ears of all four of the heroes that were now before the townspeople.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Shinn found himself immediately bombarded by grateful people giving him friendly pats on the back and handshakes from all around while Sentinel and Smokescreen were both waved to or given whatever other form of gratitude that the humans could give them without them kneeling down and shaking hands with them. Shinn then turned to see Athrun approaching him and quickly gained a look of concern as he asked, "Hey are you okay? You didn't take any damage out there did you?"

Athrun just laughed as he assured the young pilot, in a rare moment of boasting, "Don't worry I'm fine. It takes more than that to cause any damage to the Justice."

Shinn smiled in relief at that and then reported, "The mission was a success sir."

"Yes, and it's all thanks to you and your partner for this mission," Athrun congratulated.

"Well, one thing was really scary. I thought we were going to die in there," Shinn admitted. "You could've told us we would be flying in near total darkness."

"What? I could've sworn I warned you two that you were going to have to heavily rely on the data didn't I," Athrun asked in mock concern.

Shinn stared at Athrun for a minute before he shrugged and just said, "Well, I guess you did."

The two then immediately shared a laugh between them as Sentinel approached them and declared, "Shinn Asuka and Smokescreen. You are both to be commended for your actions today, and for proving that the belief of your superiors was not misplaced even in the slightest. This battle may have been won by all of our forces, but today the true victory belongs to the both of you." The Prime of the _Xanthium_ then looked to the citizens of Gulnahan and shouted out, "People of Gulnahan, I present to you your liberators, Shinn Asuka of the Impulse Gundam, and Smokescreen, Autobot Elite Guard Graduate, and proud member of the _Xanthium_ crew, and Team Sentinel Prime!"

The crowd immediately erupted into cheers of joy and excitement once more, this time joined by both Sentinel, Athrun, and even Yzak and the entire crew of both the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_, while Shinn and Smokescreen could do nothing more than look around and smile with both pride and a bit of sheepishness, and the former finally felt that he had really made the kind of difference he wanted to make for the first time in his life. As he was lifted up onto a group of people's shoulders, he immediately spotted Coniel in the crowd and called out, "Hey Coniel, get over here! We couldn't have done anything without your help."

Coniel immediately lightened up at Shinn's praise and was soon lifted up off the ground as well. The minute she was close enough to them, she gave Shinn the best, small hug she could manage as she softly cried, "Thank you both. Thank you both so much! You're my town's heroes, and we'll never forget what you guys did here today."

Shinn nodded in reply to the girl's thanks along with Smokescreen, and allowed the cheers to continue for another minute before they joined Athrun and the other Autobots in returning to their ships, so that they could continue on their way to their next destination on their travels to Gibraltar.

* * *

**_AN: I'm going to go ahead and say that this is probably going to be one of the shorter chapters of this story, but then again this was probably one of the more minor adventures in SEED Destiny. Even so, I felt I had just had to include it so that Shinn and Smokescreen could find some further character development after what happened to them last chapter, and at the same time, help them strengthen their friendship with Athrun while allowing the two to also take another step forward in achieving each of their respective goals in life._**

**_Shinn: Hey, what's the big idea here Mister Author?!_**

**_AN: What the? Shinn? What're you doing here, I thought I told you that you didn't need to come in today._**

**_Shinn: And I wasn't going to, until I found out that you were giving away a spoiler involving these two [points at Audrey and Banagher as he says that]_**

**_AN: A rare moment of spoilers from me. You really need to listen._**

**_Shinn: Right, and yet whenever I try to reveal something, I get utterly humiliated like if I were to try and say how Sentinel will use the Forge of Solus Prime to create..._**

**_AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]_**

**_Shinn: [looks around until he sees Iron Man and Angel Guardian fly in and blast him]...Me and my big mouth. [faints]_**

**_AN: And look who it is. Iron Man and Aelita, or should I say Angel Guardian, of the Avengers, from Code: Avengers! Give it up for them!_**

**_[Audience applause]_**

**_Banagher: Nice to meet you guys._**

**_Audrey: Yes, I have read of your exploits in Code: Avengers. Quite outstanding._**

**_Aelita: Thank you Princess Mineva._**

**_Iron Man: Yeah thanks a lot, and as for you lot out there reading this, please be sure to see more of both of us and the rest of the Avengers in the next chapter of our story._**

**_AN: Ah, a day without tormenting someone for trying to give away a spoiler in this or any story is like a day without sunshine. I'd say that this chapter's now complete. Or at least it will be shortly after I say, onto the preview!..._**

**_The Z.A.F.T.-Autobot team arrives in Diocuia just in time to receive a moment of rest as they celebrate their latest victory, and to see that the false songstress has arrived the moment they did. As Athrun, Shinn, and the rest of the heroes of Z.A.F.T. join the Talia and the Autobots in meeting with Chairman Durandal, they find themselves shocked to their cores as they learn of the true enemy that Lockdown has allied himself with. Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka are then brought face to face with one who they only knew through a fallen comrade who will soon be joining them on the_****Minerva_, and Shinn has a fateful encounter with a mysterious person near the sea. What other new surprises and events await the Autobots and Z.A.F.T. pilots during their stay in Diocuia, and how will it change them afterwards? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_Chapter 10: Adventures in Diocuia_. Autobots, be ready to ease your friends through the revelations they shall receive!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	10. Adventures in Diocuia

_**AN: And we are back for more baby! Whoo! That's right, we got more Gundam SEED Prime headed your way now!**_

**_Shinn: So are we going to be doing anything different in this chapter from the episodes?_**

**_Cagalli: Like you don't already know. The thing's posted isn't it._**

**_Shinn: Oh yeah. Well it never hurts to ask, you know considering how Sentinel's creating..._**

**_AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits the control]_**

**_Shinn: AW SHIT! [throws his arms over his head protectively for a few minutes] ...Uh nothing hape...[gets cut off by a flying fireball] What the hell?! _**

**_?: And there's more where that came from_**

**_Shinn:[looks to see who spoke] Zuko, from Avatar the Last Airbender?_**

**_Zuko: You have disgraced the honor of the author and the honor of this story in your attempt to dishonorably give away an honorable moment in the story, and therefore have dishonored the honor of your fellow characters and their honor in aiding the honorable author who holds great honor._**

**_Shinn:...I have no idea what you just said._**

**_Zuko: It doesn't matter, cause you're about to taste the wrath of my fire! [firebends at Shinn]_**

**_Shinn: [runs away screaming while trying to avoid the firebending]_**

**_Cagalli: Um, how did you get Zuko to agree to this?_**

**_AN: Oh you know, just tell the guy you're a fan of the series he was in and the other things that his actor was in like Hook and such, and bam! Plus I may or may not have mentioned that I might consider doing an Avatar story some time in the future that has him in it in someway._**

**_Cagalli: Do you even have an idea for an avatar story?_**

**_AN: Are you kidding me? A lot of the ideas for those things have already been done or just overdone before, plus I really loved the two series so I'm gonna have a hard time writing a story that would change anything from either Last Airbender or Legend of Korra in any way at all. So no, I've got no clue what I could do for an Avatar story, last airbender or otherwise, but I'm gonna keep trying to think of something. Until then though, I'm afraid the most dominant ideas revolve around Transformers, Gundam, Avengers, and Code Lyoko, the last two referring to Code: Avengers, of course._**

**_Cagalli: Well, I guess so long as you're thinking about it...but I wouldn't make any promises to anyone if I were you._**

**_AN: I never said I was. Anyhow, let's get on with this chapter. Roll out!_**

**_I do not own anything from any of the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Adventures in Diocuia**

After their mission at Gulnahan, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ traveled into port at the city of Diocuia, located on the coast of the Black Sea, and everyone's first impression of the city was that it was beautiful at first glance, and it only got better the moment they got into port. What followed after though was a sight that none of the two crews were expecting, as they were greeted with a large gathering of soldiers at a large stage that was obviously set up recently. As they all wondered what the reason for this was, the sound of thrusters and music reached their ears, and the crowd started cheering as two machines lowered a pink Zaku onto the stage which was carrying someone in its hands that Athrun was hoping to avoid running into for a while.

_Oh hell no,_ Athrun thought to himself the minute he saw Meer Campbell, alias the fake Lacus, descending to the stage in the hands of the pink Zaku. The last time he had met the girl she would not leave him alone for five seconds whenever she had the chance to meet up with him. To put it simply, he considered the girl to be a bit of stalker when it came to her fascination with him.

"Did you know she was going to be here," Lunamaria suddenly asked Athrun as she and the others walked onto the dock from the ship.

"Uh…no," Athrun replied, doing his best to avert his gaze so that the female pilot would not see his disgusted look that resulted from seeing Meer's performance.

"Well, it's not like you guys have the time to keep in touch all that well," Smokescreen commented as he rolled over to them. "You guys are both busy people after all."

Suddenly, Meyrin cried out when someone ran into her and nearly knocked her over had she not reacted on impulse and grabbed Athrun. Seeing her current situation, the younger Hawke sister's face went crimson as she stuttered, "I'm so sorry. Somebody just bumped into me."

Lunamaria was doing her best to suppress the urge to either sigh or laugh at her sister's obvious and lame attempt to get close to Athrun, but in the end she had to sigh at both that and Athrun's cluelessness as the FAITH pilot said, "We're kind of in the way here. Let's move over there."

Lunamaria then had to stare in astonishment at both her sister's obviousness and Athrun's cluelessness, while Smokescreen only commented, "Even _I'm_ not that oblivious and I'm one of the youngest Autobots on the _Xanthium_, and probably even Earth."

After he had led Meyrin to an area that was more out of the way and they were joined by Shinn and Lunamaria, Athrun caught a look from both Dearka and Yzak and immediately excused himself from the younger members of Z.A.F.T. before making his way over to his old friends. "So that's the chairman's songstress, huh," Yzak asked Athrun the minute he was within hearing range.

"Yep. Unfortunately," Athrun confirmed, his disgusted look now clear on his face.

"I can't believe people are actually buying this little charade," Dearka moaned in annoyance. "I mean sure, some singers and performers change their styles all the time, but this change is way too drastic for Lacus. It's nothing like anything she would do, and don't even get me started on the outfits."

"Trust me, you're not the one she latches onto every time she's seen you thus far," Athrun remarked with a barely repressed shiver. "I suppose you guys also noticed who else is here?"

"Yeah, we saw him too," Yzak confirmed as he nodded in the direction of Chairman Durandal himself who was standing next to Sentinel Prime's fire truck mode while he greeted the harbor master and commanding officers of the base. "It just proves that it's way too much of a coincidence to even be called that."

"You got that right," Dearka nodded. He then glanced off to the side and perked up when he caught a glimpse of a familiar female photographer with dark brown hair on the other side of the fence, but the blonde pilot quickly averted his gaze before she noticed. "I'm uh…gonna go and see if I can find out something else about the story with this."

"You okay Dearka," Athrun asked.

"Yeah, fine. Couldn't be better. Catch up with you guys later," Dearka quickly assured his friend before he ran off.

"What's with him," Athrun then asked Yzak.

"I don't know. He looked like he just saw someone he thought he had to avoid for the sake of his health," Yzak replied with a shrug.

Athrun just returned the shrug with one of his own when he overheard Meyrin commenting to her sister and Shinn about how "Lacus" seemed different somehow and the two agreeing with her. Hearing the three had actually noticed this without knowing Lacus personally like he and his two friends did made Athrun smile as he said, "Well, at least someone has noticed that something's off about 'Miss Lacus'."

Yzak looked at Athrun before he nodded to Shinn and the two girls, which brought a small smile to his face now that he had realized what Athrun had overheard, and he immediately began to think that there was hope to expose this farce after all.

* * *

"Now this is what I'm talking about," Dearka commented as he and the other _Minerva_ pilots, excluding Rey, rode towards a large hotel in a limo. "I still can hardly believe that we're actually getting some R&amp;R this time around. The closest thing I ever got to some time off in the last war was when I was locked up in the _Archangel_'s brig."

"Oh really," Yzak smirked. "What about that little vacation you took here on Earth with Miriallia? You know, the one during which she dumped you?"

"I've told you, she didn't dump me," Dearka shouted in response. "We broke up with each other! It was a mutual thing!"

"Uh huh. Sure it was," Yzak stated in a tone that clearly said that he did not believe him.

"Seriously, what happened between you two anyways," Athrun then asked.

"Nothing, and even if it was something, I don't want to talk about it," Dearka huffed as he turned away and crossed his arms.

"That's all you ever say on the matter," Yzak half-moaned. "Seriously, you can't keep this a mystery from us forever."

Dearka then adopted a smirk of his own as he said, "Well why are we always talking about my love life or Athrun's whenever we meet up? What's really going on with you and Shiho, Yzak?"

"Excuse me," Yzak hollered angrily. "Dearka, I've told you, there's nothing between me and that woman! We only have a working relationship!"

"Yeah, and I'm Optimus Prime," Dearka immediately replied. Athrun then could not stop himself from bursting out laughing with Shinn and Lunamaria which got all three of them glares from Yzak in response. The three then just looked off to some random direction whistling innocently in response to the FAITH commander's glare, when the car finally pulled to a stop in front of their destination.

Athrun looked off to the side to see some of the _Xanthium_ Autobots were driving around back, obviously showing that they were going to be meeting with Durandal along with them, when a voice suddenly called out to them, "Welcome everyone. Chairman Durandal has been expecting you all."

Athrun then turned and his eyes widened in shock as he instantly recognized the man before him as someone he had only seen in pictures before. He was wearing a FAITH badge on his Z.A.F.T. red uniform now, but there was definitely no mistaking the amber blonde hair and green eyes of the brother of Jaylen Westenfluss. After he had saluted the man before him along with the other four and then received a salute in reply, Athrun asked, "Sir, are you Heine Westenfluss?"

"I am," Heine smiled in reply. "I'm surprised you remembered me after all these years Athrun."

"Actually, it's mostly because Yzak, Dearka, and I met your sister," Athrun explained sadly.

"Right," Heine said in sad remembrance as well. "Believe me, I don't blame any of you for what happened to Jaylen, she was proud to have served Z.A.F.T. for as long as she did, and I can assure you that I'm not one to hold grudges. To be honest, I don't think she could've asked for a better first commander than you Athrun."

Athrun smiled and thanked Heine for that before the young man led Athrun and the rest of the pilots into the building and out onto a rooftop dining area that opened out into a secluded area of the hotel that Sentinel and the rest of his Autobot senior officers were waiting for them. Upon further inspection, Athrun and the others were a bit surprised to find that Durandal was waiting for them along with Captain Gladys and Rey as well. "Excuse me," Heine called out to the gathered group. "The mobile suit pilots from the _Minerva_ have arrived sir."

Durandal nodded to Heine and then stood up as he walked over the group with a smile, happily declaring, "Athrun, it's been a while."

Athrun gave the chairman a salute with the rest of his fellow pilots when he saw that Durandal had his hand out for a handshake, and then accepted said handshake as he hesitantly replied, "It certainly has Chairman. It's a pleasure to see you again."

Durandal nodded before he turned to Yzak and Dearka as he then said, "Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsman. It's an honor to finally meet you both at last. After all, we owe you both and your friend Nicol Amalfi a great debt of gratitude for your efforts in the last war."

"It was nothing," Dearka replied in a rare moment of modesty.

"Nonsense," Durandal immediately argued. "You helped to end the fighting, stop the Decepticons, and then end the war alongside the Four Ships Alliance and Optimus Prime's team of Autobots. And of course, most recently you both played a great part in breaking up Junius Seven as well." He then turned to the final two pilots as he asked, "And you must be…"

"Lunamaria Hawke, Mister Chairman," Luna said as she proudly presented herself.

"Shinn. Shinn Asuka, sir," Shinn then added just as proudly.

Durandal nodded and before he commented to Shinn, "Ah yes, the young man who was so inspired by the first Autobots to arrive on Earth. I remember you quite well indeed. I hear you've done some amazing things young man. In fact, you've been recommended for a decoration, and I believe you'll have the results in your hands shortly."

Shinn's face instantly burst into a wide smile as he happily thanked the chairman for his words, while Athrun and the others all gazed at Shinn in surprised, yet proud amazement. Having felt that the pleasantries were now out of the way, Durandal offered them all a seat at the table so that they could all enjoy the meal that he had requested to be prepared for them all. The minute they were all seated, Durandal brought his attention to the pilots as he informed them, "What you all accomplished at the Lohengrin Gate was quite impressive on its own, especially considering how well I heard you worked with the Autobots, and to think that for some of you, your first engagement at all, let alone your first one alongside the Autobots, was at Armory One. You should all be quite proud. Of course, I suppose you older pilots provide great inspiration to the new generation along with the Autobot warriors you all fight alongside."

"I don't know about that," Yzak argued. "They are pretty good, but they did need a little more experience, and to learn to respect their superiors," He then said as he gave Shinn a pointed look.

"Well to be honest, sir," Shinn suddenly spoke up with a bit of sheepishness. "Commanders Zala and Joule, and Sentinel Prime deserve the credit for such a well planned operation. The rest of us really just followed orders, sir."

Durandal nodded in conceit of that as he looked to them all as he continued, "This great city was liberated because of your efforts in taking out that enemy emplacement. I'm proud of each and every one of you."

"Thank you very much sir," Lunamaria then bowed in thanks to the chairman happily.

"Chairman, if you don't mind my asking, have there been any new developments out in space recently," Dearka then asked in complete seriousness. "Or even with the Earth Forces on the moon?"

Durandal could understand that Dearka mainly asked that because he, Yzak, and Athrun were all worried about Nicol and Shiho, who were still defending the PLANTs on that front, but he still had to sadly inform, "Nothing has changed. Every now and then, there's a minor skirmish, but really nothing too serious, and as far as the Earth is concerned, I'm in the dark here as well. So many variables. Like here, other regions wish to fight the Alliance, and they've requested our aid and assistance in doing so." Durandal then paused for a moment so he could clasp his hands together under his chin before he continued. "This leads me to ask the question: what are we doing here?"

"And what of progress towards a cease fire or ending this pointless war," Sentinel then asked.

"Unfortunately, there has not been any progress with that either," Durandal informed the Prime. "The Alliance is unwilling to compromise on anything, including their beliefs that all Cybertronians are a menace to Earth, and they have also continued to insist that they know nothing of the Eradicons' involvement with their forces despite the evidence that says otherwise. We do not wish for this war to continue, but with things as they are now, there is nothing we can do about it."

Sentinel then glanced towards the _Minerva_ pilots and some of his own forces before he interjected, "Chairman, I understand that this subject may not one that should be raised in front of such fine soldiers such as those of the _Minerva_ pilots or my Autobots, but I truly understand that ending a war and choosing a path that doesn't involve fighting is much more difficult than making the decision to go to war."

"Yes, but…" Shinn started to say, getting everyone's attention.

"Don't speak out of line, Asuka," Yzak quickly interrupted angrily.

"No, it's quite alright Commander Joule," Durandal reassured Yzak. "If our young friend, Shinn, or any of you have something on your minds, please don't hesitate to tell me. Like Representative Athha, I truly value the opinions and input of all those who serve Z.A.F.T. and live in the PLANTs, especially when they come from the people on the front lines. You could say I invited you here, because I wanted to hear your various opinions."

Shinn hesitated for a moment before he finally voiced his thoughts. "I agree that it's important to avoid fighting whenever we can, sir, but if the enemy were to threaten us, those we care about, or really anyone that we have sworn to protect and fight for, then do we really have any other choice? I mean, if we don't fight to protect the things and people we care about, or even when there's an obvious need, then how can we really protect anything? Innocent people, or rather any form of people who just want to live their lives should be protected. After all, as Optimus Prime, himself has so often been known to say, freedom is…"

"The right of all sentient beings," Sentinel finished. Every one of the humans looked to the commander of the _Xanthium_ in surprise and he immediately explained, "All Autobots fight for that reason my young friends, and really, who do you think was one of the ones that taught Optimus that lesson?"

The humans all chuckled for a minute, until Athrun finally cut into the moment as he said, "You're right in what you say Shinn, but there's a problem with that as well." Everyone glanced at Athrun in confusion, and the FAITH pilot looked to them all as he explained his meaning. "A very great friend asked me once, 'if a person kills for vengeance and is then killed for being a killer, then how will we ever find peace?' When I was first asked that question, I was unable to come up with a good answer, or even one at all, and unfortunately, the Autobot I met that time did not have the answer either. I'm still at a loss on the answer, and that's one of the reasons I'm back here. Back on the battlefield."

Everyone paused for a moment to think on Athrun's words, until Sentinel finally spoke up saying, "You are correct in that regard. That is the essential problem that we all face, whether we come from Earth or another world. Throughout the history of both our worlds, many have often asked why do we keep fighting if there's no end in sight, and why wars never seem to cease to exist. As they ask these questions, they have also cried out how much they hate wars and the pain they bring, and yet they still continue to plague us all. Even we of Cybertron, who once traveled across the stars to spread ourselves out to other worlds, have fallen into the despair of war, ultimately leading us to never visit those worlds we once came to colonize. Though if wars cause so much pain, then why do they continue to spread like the disease they are? What do you think the reason is, Shinn?"

Shinn looked at Sentinel in surprise for a minute, wondering why Sentinel would ask him specifically, until he shook it off and then gave his answer after careful thought. "I think that it's because…throughout history, there have been people who made selfish, and often stupid decisions like Blue Cosmos, the Atlantic Federation, and even Megatron. Right?"

"Yes, that is quite true," Durandal assured Shinn. "There are many people like that. They want what others have, and they hate, fear, and even despise those who are different. People always continue to fight each other for reasons like these. However, war has another side. A more hopeless and unforgivable side, and a much more merciless side. One that we've already had a small amount of experience with when dealing with Lockdown and his forces."

Durandal then paused to let that sink in for everyone, and it seemed that even some of Sentinel's Autobots were just as shocked by this revelation as the _Minerva_ pilots were. Seeing that he now had everyone's full attention, Durandal looked out towards a new Z.A.F.T. machine as he explained, "For example, I'm sure you have all noticed that there are new mass produced mobile suits in the harbor now. They are known as the ZGMF-X2000 GOUFs, and they were actually just starting to be rolled out of factories only days ago. Since we're in the middle of a war, new models such as these are produced one after the other. On a battlefield, missiles are fired, mobile suits blow up, and countless things are destroyed, while in the meantime, factories are continuously producing new machines and weapons. The battlefield is flooded with new weapons from both sides, and demand is so high, that the production lines actually have difficulty keeping up."

"Chairman," Sentinel warned. "I don't think it is wise to tell them all of this."

"Perhaps not Sentinel, but they have a right to know," Durandal then told the Prime. After getting a nod of understanding from Sentinel, Durandal then looked to the others and continued on with what he was saying. "Now, think about what it costs to produce one, single machine. If you think of it as a business, no other venture provides that kind of turnover, while simultaneously pulling in enormous profits."

"Sir, this is…disturbing," Shinn suddenly protested.

"Yes, and it is a necessary part of conducting a war. It cannot be helped," Durandal then sadly told Shinn.

"Sentinel…is that also true for," Smokescreen asked.

Sentinel glanced at the young Autobot for a minute before he hung his head in shame as he confirmed, "I'm afraid so Smokescreen. It is just as true for our world as it is for the humans, and eventually, it warps people, and they learn to think differently if it involves a profit."

"What do you mean," Tracks asked nervously, and it was clear that his question was being silently asked by everyone that was gathered together that day.

Durandal then stepped back in once more as he explained, "When a war ends, there is no longer a need for weapons, and then profits dry up. But what if there was another war? Then profits would be guaranteed. Therefore there are some people out there who desire war, and they want it more than anything else."

"That's sick," Yzak then shouted in anger, furious at the idea that anyone could be so selfish that they would start a war just to earn a quick buck.

"And sadly it is true," Sentinel informed the pilot. "Lockdown, himself, has often begun wars on other worlds so that he could gain the most benefits from the end results, in something that he considers a game that he would always win no matter which side wins or loses. The same also holds true for many other worlds as well, including your own Yzak Joule."

"Sentinel is correct, for throughout human history, there have always been those who've urged people to make war, thinking of it as a business and the chance to manufacture more weapons, and all for their own profit," Durandal sadly confirmed. "If we look into the shadows of this war, I have no doubt we will find LOGOS is behind it, and that they are the Eradicons' true employers, since it was they who created Blue Cosmos."

"No way," Dearka gasped, a shocked reaction that was shared by Athrun, Shinn, Smokescreen, and a number of Sentinel's other Autobots, save for Chromia, Blur, and Crosshairs.

"They are most certainly the source of all our difficulties," Sentinel then confirmed for the group. "And so long as humanity and our own Autobot forces continue to dance to their tune, the PLANTs and the Earth will most likely never see an end to the fighting, and the same may very well hold true for the Autobots and the Decepticons as well."

Durandal hung his head in sadness for a moment before he gave the group a hopeful smile as he assured them, "If at all possible, I'm going to change all that, but this task before us is truly the most difficult one imaginable. However, I am confident that we will be able to accomplish this with the help of Sentinel and his Autobots, so I am more than simply hopeful that day when we accomplish this task will soon be upon us all."

Everyone then decided to continue the rest of the meal and the gathering in silence for a while, at least until Sentinel and the other Autobots offered to tell some of their old war stories to the gathered humans along with some of the tales of worlds that the ancients had traveled to in the past before the ability to reach them was lost to them. Even though each of these tales helped to lighten the mood a little, it did not change the fact that everyone still had a great deal to think about after what Sentinel and Durandal had revealed to them all.

* * *

After they had finished their impromptu meeting with Durandal, the Z.A.F.T. pilots were offered to stay the night at the hotel they were in, at Durandal's insistence of course, and while Shinn and Lunamaria were both eager to accept, Athrun, Dearka, and Yzak were a bit more hesitant to do so. Though when Rey offered to go on back to the ship for everyone else, Yzak and Dearka were quick to accept the blonde man's kind offer, though Athrun was still a bit more hesitant on the matter. Athrun's wish to leave and return to the ship was quickly reinforced when Meer suddenly showed up and, after a few polite words to Durandal, quickly latched on to Athrun.

Dearka and Yzak both winced at the sight of Athrun's words from earlier being proven true, but when Athrun through them both a look that clearly shouted "Get her off me!" the two just backed away a bit and slightly shook their heads in the negative, clearly stating they did not want to risk catching whatever this Meer girl had. Athrun's worries were quickly increased when Durandal suddenly suggested that he and Meer go out for dinner together and offered to pay for the meal, and while Meer was barely keeping herself from jumping for joy, Athrun was crying on the inside and throwing his two "best friends" another look that was clearly a sign of begging them for help, but the two were also quick to refuse that as well, getting a glare from Athrun in response. Athrun was about to curse the two out completely, when his prayers for help at getting the girl to detach herself from him were answered the moment Durandal said he wanted to speak with Athrun about something important along with Sentinel.

Though he was grateful to have Meer off him for the moment after they stepped outside into the night, Athrun's gratitude quickly changed to nervousness when he found out what the chairman and the Prime wished to speak with him about. "It's about the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_," Durandal had revealed. "I'm sure you've heard the news."

"Yes sir," Athrun confirmed. "Although, I'm surprised that Sentinel had not informed you of that yet."

Durandal cast a confused glance in Sentinel's direction, but the Prime simply stated, "Given the circumstances, I never did have a chance to confirm whether or not you had heard that by now, and I never really did get a true impression on whether or not you had heard, Athrun."

Athrun nodded in understanding at that, but he knew that Durandal and Sentinel were both wondering what he knew about his friends and comrades on the two ships, and were subtly interrogating him about it. "I've been wondering where those two ships went after leaving Orb. Would you by any chance have any information on their present whereabouts," Durandal then asked, confirming Athrun's suspicions.

"No sir. It's been on my mind since I heard about it, but I don't have any useful information," Athrun denied, though he did know that the original plan was for the group aboard the two ships to head for the Kingdom of Scandinavia, not that he was going to tell either one of the two that. "To tell the truth sir, I was thinking of asking either you or Sentinel if one of you had heard anything about the ships."

"I see," Durandal replied slowly, subtly narrowing his eyes in slight irritation as he did. "Well I'm asking because, if the _Archangel_, the Freedom, the _Omega II_, and Optimus's team all left Orb, then possibly the real Lacus Clyne might be with them."

Athrun had to wonder why Durandal was so curious about whether or not Lacus was with the two groups, and he also did not miss how he referred to Team Optimus Prime as "Optimus's team" instead of "Optimus Prime's team", but given that if the worst came to worst, Lacus had a plan in place to keep her safe from anyone's reach even if they did find the two ships, so he saw no harm in telling the two, "Yes sir. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Kira wouldn't…uh, I mean the ships. The ships wouldn't leave her. Lacus is most definitely onboard."

Durandal then paused for a minute, as though he suspected Athrun might know something, before he finally stated, "Given the present crisis, I was hoping she'd return and come back to her home in the PLANTs. That's why I've been searching for her. Do you suppose she might have grown tired of us, and the way we seem to keep doing things over and over?"

"I really couldn't say sir," Athrun replied with a downcast look.

Durandal then shrugged as he apologized saying, "Well sorry to bother you. If by some chance you were to come into contact with one of those ships sometime in the near future, I would appreciate it if you were to let either Sentinel or myself know."

Athrun was not stupid or easy to fool, as the chairman clearly seemed to think he was, and he could easily tell that the chairman was basically telling him that he should report in the minute he heard something of the two ships' location, or locations, but he could only guess what the reason was, and none of his guesses involved something good. So, all he could say in response was, "Yes sir, but could I ask a favor of you both?"

"What would that be," Sentinel asked.

"If one of you find out where she is, then would you kindly let me know too, please," Athrun requested.

Durandal barely contained a smirk at hearing Athrun's request, an action that seemed to be mirrored by Sentinel for a moment, before he replied, "Yes, I'll do that."

With that said, the chairman walked away as Sentinel transformed to his fire truck mode and returned to the _Xanthium_, having something important that he wished to discuss with his Autobots when he returned, leaving Athrun to the torment that was dealing with Meer Campbell for the duration of dinner that evening.

* * *

The following morning was rather eventful for the _Minerva_ pilots to say the least, some more so than others. When he had gone to sleep last night, Athrun had thought for sure that he had finally ditched Meer after their impromptu dinner reservation, but sadly, when he woke up the next morning, he found out that the girl had somehow snuck into his room and fallen asleep next to him, much to his shock and irritation. Athrun had tried his best to explain to Meer that Lacus would never do something like this, but unfortunately he found he could not explain it very well without telling her that he and Lacus were no longer engaged, a fact that the girl seemed determined to ignore no matter how many times he told her. This resulted in Athrun having the misfortune of showing up in the dining hall with Meer attached to his arm, much to Yzak and Dearka's amusement when they saw him along with Shinn, Lunamaria, and Heine, who had also stayed the night.

Athrun was extremely grateful that Meer had to leave soon after discussing her schedule with her manager, who was also in on the secret that Meer was not the real Lacus, and had then walked away to discuss said schedule, leaving Athrun with his fellow pilots. The minute Meer was gone, Athrun shot both Yzak and Dearka an irritated look that clearly showed the two how upset he was that they did not at least try to help him out of that situation, but they were all brought out of their musings when Heine announced that he would be joining the _Minerva_'s crew as the pilot of the Savior, the machine that Durandal had originally offered to Athrun when he first rejoined Z.A.F.T. "You've been assigned to the _Minerva_," Athrun asked in shock.

"Yeah, looks that way, once I return to duty that is," Heine remarked casually. "I'll be visiting the ship later to officially introduce myself. You know, this could be a pain in the ass, four FAITH members on one ship."

"I don't know about that," Yzak remarked confidently. "We've managed pretty well with having three FAITH members on one ship, so a fourth shouldn't make that much difference."

"Well, I admire your confidence Yzak," Heine then complimented. "Not to worry though. On the frontlines, we go where we're sent, and the people calling the shots have a completely different view of the situation. Anyway, I look forward to working with all of you, especially you three, Athrun, Dearka, and Yzak. My sister's letters all said you're old team was a great group to work with, so I hope to have the same experience as she did, obviously without the same ending."

"The feelings mutual sir," Dearka assured Heine with a smile.

"The chairman and Sentinel also have high hopes for these two ships, so let's try not to disappoint him or our Autobot friends," Heine then added with a smile of his own.

"Yes sir. We'll certainly all do our best," Athrun replied as he and the others gave Heine a quick salute before getting their own breakfast.

When the five pilots had finished with their breakfast, Yzak and Dearka had gone off to answer a call that Yzak was getting from the _Minerva_ about something important, leaving Shinn and Lunamaria to go with Athrun to see Meer off, at the fake songstress's insistence. When Meer tried to get Athrun to give her a goodbye kiss though, Athrun finally had enough and then practically threw her onto the plane. Shinn and Lunamaria were both stunned into silence at the sight of this, but they kept quiet about it until they reached the elevator. At that point, Lunamaria had to say, "That wasn't very nice you know."

"What," Athrun asked, completely confused by what the girl was talking about.

"The way you treated Miss Lacus," Lunamaria explained. "I mean, she is your fiancé so shouldn't you be a little more…I don't know, nicer to her?"

Athrun just sighed in exasperation, not currently in the mood to discuss this with Lunamaria, so he tried his best to get around it as he said, "It's not like that."

"Well it sure looked like it," Shinn piped in. "I mean, from where I was standing, it almost seemed like you hated her or something."

"It's not that at all," Athrun quickly exclaimed. "It's just…look it might not be easy to explain to you two so you understand."

"How hard could it possibly be to explain why you act like your own fiancé is someone you don't treat like your fiancé," Lunamaria asked.

"Lacus is not my fiancé anymore," Athrun finally shouted, finally showing how completely fed up he was. The two younger pilots' eyes widened at Athrun's declaration, and Athrun then took a minute to breathe as he explained, "Look, my engagement to Lacus was called off during the last war, and even though there was never an official announcement about it, Lacus and I are officially no longer engaged. Though why the official word still has not gone out yet is beyond me."

Shinn and Lunamaria both nodded in understanding, and then promised Athrun that they would do what they could to make sure that was made clear to everyone else they knew as well so they did not make the same mistake. They still tried to ask why Athrun seemed to be so distant from Lacus, or rather Meer, but Athrun just said that he could not talk about it with them, which led both of them to believe more than ever that Meyrin was probably right in thinking that Lacus was different now for some strange reason. They were all brought out of their thoughts when the elevator came to the floor they wanted and they stepped out as Lunamaria said, "So what should we do with the rest of our day? I mean, we have the day off so we could just go into town or something."

"Yeah, I like the sound of that," Shinn agreed happily. "It's been a while since we were able to do anything like that when we weren't on duty, and since we're somewhere other than Armory One or the PLANTs, it should be a lot more fun." He then turned to Athrun and asked, "What do you think Athrun? Sound good to you too?"

"I suppose it could be okay," Athrun admitted. "But I was actually going to head back to the ship so that I could meet with Yzak, Commander Westenfluss, the captain, and Sentinel on a few things. Why don't you guys go on ahead without me? It could be like your first date."

Shinn and Lunamaria both gained mega blushes at Athrun's suggestion, and they were both quickly stuttering in response to try and correct him, not realizing that Athrun was just messing with them, until they were suddenly interrupted by an approaching Yzak and Dearka, both of whom had a data pad under their arms. "Hey you guys, I thought you should know that I'm having a meeting on the _Minerva_ a bit later to discuss revised battle strategies and formations with our main pilots. I was going to start with Rey and Lunamaria since they're the only ones who're not going to be getting new machines, but it could take a while," Yzak informed the three. He then turned an apologetic look to the girl of their group as he said, "Unfortunately, that means that it may cut in to your time off Lunamaria."

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Lunamaria silently moaned. "I was going to…"

Lunamaria then stopped short when she felt Shinn's hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see the young man himself smiling at her as he said, "Don't worry about it Luna. We'll be here for a while anyways, so we can just reschedule for another time or something. If that's okay of course."

"Yeah that'll be fine," Yzak told the two with a smile. "I had a feeling you might want to do that and already got approval to reschedule your time off from Captain Gladys if you wanted to do that."

Lunamaria looked back at Shinn, silently asking if he was sure, and the moment Shinn nodded in affirmative of that, the female pilot turned to Yzak and gave a salute saying, "Yes sir. I'll be at the _Minerva_ as soon as I can for the meeting sir."

Yzak nodded in approval of this and then said, "Also, Athrun, Shinn, I'll be meeting with you, Dearka, and Heine about new battle strategies for the four of us as well, since we'll all be flying Gundams from now on."

"Wait, what," Athrun exclaimed.

"Guess he should've mentioned this first, but Yzak and I are being assigned a new machine each," Dearka informed his friend as he handed Athrun the data pad he was carrying. "And I think you might find our new units pretty familiar."

Athrun accepted the data pad, and he immediately gasped in shock at what he saw. Shinn then became curious of what the commander was looking at and took a peak for himself, only for his face to soon match Athrun's as he softly exclaimed, "Are these…"

"Yep, the Buster and the Duel, in a manner of speaking," Dearka confirmed. "They've now been remade like the old Aegis into the ZGMF-X103AP Verde Buster Gundam and the ZGMF-X1022 Blu Duel Gundam. They're mine and Yzak's new machines, and the word is Nicol's getting a new and improved version of the Blitz as well."

"That's amazing," Athrun exclaimed happily. "Now you guys will be able to fight at full strength, the way you were meant to."

"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later," Yzak chuckled. "After all, once a Gundam pilot, always a Gundam pilot." Yzak then became serious once again as he added one final note saying, "Also, as of now, Sentinel Prime is assigning each of us pilots on the _Minerva_ an Autobot Guardian."

"What," Lunamaria gasped. "Are you saying that we'll now have permanent Autobot partners or something?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying," Yzak confirmed as he pulled out his own data pad. "I have the official listing right here. Rey Za Burrel is to be paired up with Scattershot, Lunamaria Hawke is with Crosshairs, Dearka is paired up with Drift, Heine will be working alongside Springer, I myself will be partnered with Mirage, and Athrun Zala is with Smokescreen."

"Wait, Athrun's with Smokescreen," Shinn exclaimed in confusion. "But sir, with all due respect, wouldn't it make more sense if Smokescreen was paired up with me, given the fact that we've worked so well together in the past, and quite often as well?"

"That's what I thought when I heard about it from Sentinel," Yzak then revealed. "But Sentinel said that his decisions on who would be each of our Guardians was final, and that he believed that pairing Smokescreen with Athrun would be more beneficial on both their parts for some reason."

Athrun found himself wondering what that meant, and from the look on Yzak's face, the Joule Team leader did not know any more on that matter than Athrun did, so he simply shrugged it off for the moment. The minute he did, Athrun realized something that Yzak had seemed to have left out. "Wait a minute Yzak. You didn't say who Shinn's partner is," Athrun reminded his fellow FAITH operative.

Yzak seemed to hesitate for a moment, giving Athrun a clear message that Yzak was not really all that eager to reveal who Shinn's official Autobot partner was going to be, until finally Yzak revealed, "Shinn Asuka of the Impulse Gundam has been assigned Sentinel Prime, himself, as his Autobot Guardian."

Now everyone other than Yzak was shocked into speechlessness. Sentinel had assigned himself as Shinn's Autobot guardian? Why would he do that? By doing so, he would effectively be leaving the _Xanthium_ under someone else's command in every single battle they would face. Granted that would normally mean that it would most likely be Chromia, and she was definitely a more than capable commander, but was it really okay for the _Xanthium_ Autobots' leader to act as an Autobot guardian for Shinn? Even Optimus Prime was never an official guardian to someone, despite the fact that many still believe that he was unofficially guardian to both Kira Yamato and Cagalli Yula Athha, so to hear that Sentinel was doing this was beyond anything any of them would have ever expected.

Yzak then simply shook his head and coughed into his hand to bring everyone out of their stupor as he then informed them, "At any rate, you'll all start working with your newly assigned Autobot Guardians after you return to the _Minerva_, so take advantage of the time you have on the ship to get to know your new partners and what they can do now if you can. That's all for now." Yzak was about to leave with Dearka, Lunamaria, and Athrun in tow when he turned back to Shinn and said, "Oh and Shinn, you can still take that time off you were given now if you want it, but only until I call you to let you know when the meeting I'll need you at is about to start, okay?"

"Uh…yes. Understood sir," Shinn replied as he gave a salute in gratitude for that, and Shinn honestly felt that after the revelation he had just had, he was going to need that time off to clear his head.

* * *

A few hours later on the _Xanthium_, Smokescreen was simply wandering the halls of the ship on his own, thinking over all the things that he had heard from Sentinel and Durandal the previous day. To be honest, ever since he heard about it, the whole thing was making his processor go crazy. The idea of people actually wanting wars to keep going all so they could make some kind of profit was just unbelievable to him, and yet the two leaders had made it pretty clear that it was all true. Granted, they did say that they wanted to put an end to that by working together, but Smokescreen was having a hard time figuring out how they were going to do that. What could they possibly do, patrol every planet they go to as some kind of military police force and eliminate any one who wanted to do that sort of thing? The young Autobot always believed that the Autobots had fought so that everyone would have the right to choose for themselves, but the way Sentinel and Durandal were talking it almost sounded like they wanted to control people in order to keep such things from happening. Then again, maybe he was just over thinking things and getting a different message than the one that the two were trying to give.

As Smokescreen continued to dwell on this, he rounded a corner and accidentally ran head first into someone, sending them both to the ground. Smokescreen looked up and saw that he had just run right into Tracks and immediately said, "Oh, sorry about that Tracks. I wasn't paying attention to where I was…"

"It's alright kid," Tracks assured Smokescreen as they both stood up. Smokescreen then nodded and then moved to continue on his way, when Tracks suddenly said, "Hey Smoke, you got a minute?"

"Sure, what's up," Smokescreen asked as he paused and turned back to face Tracks.

Tracks seemed to glance around for a minute before he finally said, "Look, I don't know why, but lately Sentinel's been acting…I don't know…different somehow."

"What do you mean," Smokescreen then questioned in confusion.

"Like, remember how easily Durandal seemed to convince Sentinel that everyone should know about that uglier, darker side of wars," Tracks asked. When Smokescreen nodded in confirmation, Tracks went on to ask, "Since when is Sentinel that easily convinced of anything? Seriously, I've served under the guy for more cycles than I can remember now, and I've never known him to be that easily convinced of something. I mean, can you even remember him being that easy to convince on a matter?"

"Well, maybe he's just a bit more open minded after what happened with our battle against Lockdown's ship outside of Cybertron's orbit," Smokescreen suggested. "But he seemed pretty quick to convince on Cybertron's fate when we heard about it from Optimus Pr…"

Tracks quickly made a shushing noise at Smokescreen as he pushed the younger Autobot against a wall, frantically covering Smokescreen's mouth as he said, "Careful will you, or haven't you noticed what the reaction to saying that out loud has been ever since we first heard about it?"

"What are you talking about," Smokescreen demanded as quietly as he could manage after he got Tracks's hand off his mouth.

Tracks glanced around once more before he pulled Smokescreen off to the side where no one could see them and whispered, "See this is another thing I've noticed. Every time someone so much as _suggests_ that Optimus is now a Prime, the person who said it gets all kinds of looks thrown at them for weeks that would make a 'Bot think that the person had brought Unicron back from the dead. The only exception is the humans, but I've seen Sentinel barely repress a snarl and a nasty look of his own whenever Athrun Zala, Chairman Durandal, or any of them calls Optimus by that name."

"But why would they do that? I mean we all saw that Optimus is carrying the Matrix of Leadership back in Orb, and that's not something you can just throw onto yourself like a spare blaster," Smokescreen argued. "Plus we all saw what happened when Optimus lifted up the Star Saber as well, just to show us the thing. It was glowing with pure, blue energy, and the sword has only been known to do that in the hands of a true Prime."

"I don't know why their acting like that, kid, but they are," Tracks told him. "And I could've sworn I heard someone say that, and I'm paraphrasing here, 'the pathetic librarian probably messed with the sword to make it think he was a real Prime'. There have been other things being said about both the Star Saber and the Matrix, but I've studied everything on both those objects since before the war, and I know for a fact that it's all legit, so why doesn't anyone else believe that?"

Smokescreen was now getting a worried look on his face, and when he asked Tracks his next question, he could not keep the stutter or the nervousness out of his voice. "W-what are you s-saying, Tracks?"

"I'm saying that there's something else going on that Sentinel doesn't want all of us knowing about," Tracks told Smokescreen. "I'm pretty sure a few of us are in the know, like Chromia since she's his 'First Commander', or even Crosshairs, but I can't be certain who doesn't know, aside from you since you're still new to the whole team." Tracks then glanced around once more before he told Smokescreen, "Whatever's going on, I think it involves whatever project that Sentinel's working on with all that energon he's been collecting and the Forge of Solus Prime."

"So, what should we do," Smokescreen asked. "Confront Sentinel about it?"

"Primus, is your processor on the fritz, kid?! If we're right and we confront Sentinel about this, then we're as good as scrapped," Tracks quietly shouted in negative. "For now, we don't do anything until we know exactly who we can trust. I'm pretty sure we can trust at least a few of the humans on the _Minerva_, but I can't be entirely certain. Either way, just keep this between the two of us for now."

Smokescreen nodded in understanding and agreement, even though he hated the idea of keeping anything from any of his teammates, especially since now he was going to be a full time partner to one of the mobile suit pilots on the _Minerva_. Thinking about that actually raised the question to Smokescreen as to why Sentinel decided that he would be best suited to work with Shinn himself while Smokescreen was to work with Athrun. It did not really make much sense to him now that he really thought about it, even if Athrun was an experienced soldier that Smokescreen could probably learn from. He was then brought out of his musings when he and Tracks heard someone calling out to the two of them, and they turned to see Lunamaria running towards them.

"What's wrong Lunamaria," Tracks asked the young pilot.

"I need to find Evac or one of the other Protectobots, or really anyone who turns into something that can fly," Lunamaria panted, clearly indicating that she was out of breath, and from her tone, it sounded like something really had heard worried.

"Why, what's wrong," Smokescreen asked.

"The _Minerva_ just received an emergency signal from Shinn," Lunamaria then said. That was all either of the two needed to hear and they immediately went off to find Evac and Springer, knowing that those two were the best suited for a rescue mission.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time Evac and Lunamaria had finally traced Shinn's signal to a small outcropping at the surface of a cliff by the water, and the minute she saw Shinn coming out into the light, Lunamaria sighed in relief and called out over a loudspeaker she had, "An emergency signal when you're on leave? You just can't have a regular day off like everyone else, can you Shinn? How'd you even end up ship wrecked like this anyways?"

Shinn was about to call out in reply to his friends question when suddenly a blonde girl in a white and blue dress came out from the same outcropping and grabbed on to Shinn's arm. Seeing this caused Lunamaria's eyes to widen in shock and a slight amount of hurt at how close this girl had clearly gotten to Shinn, but she was quick to shake it off long enough to get a line down to the two so that Evac could fly them back to shore where Springer was waiting for them in vehicle mode. The minute they were about to head on their way, Lunamaria threw a small look of jealousy at Shinn and the girl, who refused to leave Shinn's side the whole time, and pointedly asked, "Is she from Diocuia?"

"Well she hasn't given me a clear answer on that," Shinn admitted.

Lunamaria huffed a bit to herself and then asked, "Do you even know her name?"

"All she told me was that her name was Stella," Shinn replied. "As for family and such, I've gotten as clear an answer on those things as I did on whether or not she's from Diocuia."

Lunamaria just gave him another jealous look and was about to turn around when the two suddenly heard Evac say through his holo-form that was pretending to be the pilot, "Hey you two, there seems to be a couple of guys on the cliff calling out for this girl. They're both young men and one of them has green hair while…"

Before he could finish what he was saying, Stella immediately perked up happily and exclaimed, "That's Sting!"

Realizing that if the girl could identify who one of the two people on the cliff side were, Lunamaria told Evac to radio ahead to Springer and ask him to get the two to stay where they were until they arrived, and a short while later, Springer had done just that, and the Protectobot leader had landed a short ways away from them. The minute Stella had climbed out of Evac, she raced over to Sting and another man with blue hair as the man the four assumed to be her brother wrapped her in a hug. "Silly thing, what in the world happened to you," Sting asked Stella.

"She fell into the ocean, but luckily I happened to be close by," Shinn explained as he and Lunamaria walked over just as Evac was taking off so that he could return to the _Xanthium_.

"Is that so," Sting asked. "I'm sorry to have caused you any trouble, but as you've probably noticed my sister can be a bit of an air head sometimes. Thank you very much."

"It was no problem," Lunamaria assured him, ignoring the slight glare the other man was sending her way as best she could while she did so. After the last of the necessary pleasantries were exchanged, Shinn and Lunamaria headed over to Springer as he pulled up to them and opened his doors to allow them inside so they could head back to the harbor.

Just as he was about to get in, Stella had run up and grabbed Shinn's arm as she asked, "Shinn, are you going?"

Shinn looked at Stella for a minute with an apologetic smile before he said, "Sorry, but I have to." Seeing Stella's downtrodden look, Shinn quickly assured her, "It's alright. Everything will be alright now that you're back with your brothers. I…I'm sure we'll see each other again, okay?"

Stella seemed to cheer up a little when Shinn said that, and upon seeing this, Lunamaria could feel a bit of anger building up inside of her as she looked at her friend and pointedly reminded him, "We have to go Shinn. Are you ready or not?"

"Uh…yeah," Shinn replied as he climbed into Springer's car mode. "Sorry Stella, but I meant what I said. We'll meet again. I'll come and see you."

Stella watched Shinn and the others go for another minute, muttering something to herself as she did, and then climbed into the car that neither one of the Z.A.F.T. pilots nor even Springer ever suspected was actually the Stunticon known as Wildrider from the Eradicons. As the two parted ways, somehow both Transformers could feel that Shinn and Stella's departure from each other was a sign of the new and difficult battles that were to come.

* * *

**_AN: So that's that. I know what you're all thinking, I completely edited out the whole moment between Shinn and Stella, and honestly, yes I did do that, but can you blame me? The whole thing was just going to play out the exact same way it did last time, and which would you have preferred, seeing some crap you've already seen like a million times before now, or that whole thing between Smokescreen and Tracks? Also, yeah, I had Lunamaria come to Shinn and Stella's rescue like in the Special Edition, but in all honesty, I think it actually works better for the story this way, because as you can clearly see by now, Lunamaria has no interest in Athrun what-so-ever, and I've done my best to show that she does have feelings for Shinn right from the start of the story this time around._**

**_Now speaking of that whole moment between Smokescreen and Tracks, yes I have now confirmed that Sentinel is up to something behind the scenes with this, but at the same time I've also pointed out that not everyone on the _Xanthium_ team knows about that. Who is friend and who is foe in that regard? Well, you'll have to try and figure that out for yourselves or just wait for me to tell you. Either way, I hope you can all rest easy knowing that there seems to be doubt among Sentinel's ranks, and among those doubters is Smokescreen._**

**_Finally, the whole reveal about Logos, yeah I didn't change much for that scene either, but really, there wasn't all that much I could change aside from the inclusion of the Autobots. I did also make a mention of how the Transformers did visit other worlds, and that is something that will play a big part in the story series later on, but I can't say much more on the matter than that. Then again, maybe I've said too much._**

**_Cagalli: Ahem. Aren't you forgetting something?_**

**_AN: Hm? Oh right, the new Gundams and Heine getting the Savior. Yes, Yzak and Dearka's machines are the Verde Buster and the Blu Duel, and I know that people have had them piloting those machines before, but like it was said earlier, once a Gundam pilot, always a Gundam pilot, and I really wish that they had been allowed to remain Gundam pilots in SEED Destiny instead of just getting average machines like Zakus and all that. Also, I was always going to have Heine end up piloting the Savior, and my reasons will be made clear in the next chapter I assure you. Speaking of which, Onto the preview!..._**

**_The _****Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ head out once more, and soon find themselves in the midst of a battle against the Alliance, the Eradicons, and, surprisingly, the Orb Forces. As Shinn and Athrun face off against the one enemy that neither of them ever wished to fight against, chaos begins to overwhelm the battlefield, and is then amplified by the confusion that is brought on by the sudden appearance of the Freedom, Optimus Prime, the _Archangel_, and the _Omega II_. How will the two sides react to the sudden arrival of these forces on the battlefield, and what actions will the crew of the _Tidal Wave_, the crew of the _Xanthium_, and the forces of Orb take in response to their arrival? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_Chapter 11: Storm at the Dardanelles_. Freedom, Optimus, cut through the darkness that surround the battlefield as best you can!_**

**_Cagalli: That's great and all, but I was referring to the fact that Zuko is still trying to burn Shinn alive._**

**_AN: Oh don't worry about it. He'll be fine as long as they don't leave the building...they left the building didn't they?_**

**_Cagalli: Yep._**

**_AN: Ah great. Well, I've gotta go deal with this now, so for now I simply say,_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**

**_Hey which one of you guys remembers what I did with the numbers for the Avatar, MARVEL, DC, and Naruto universes? Or better yet, who here can help me get those guys back here before we have a real problem on our hands? Seriously, we need one of those guys for the whole rest of the story._**


	11. Storm at the Dardanelles

_**AN: Hey, we're back with another round of Destiny Sentinels! Now this chapter may be short compared to others, but my goal for this chapter was really a simple one, and I wanted to make sure that I really captured it right.**_

_**[Shinn is in background with a big neon sign that says something about Sentinel and Optimus but the rest is censored out]**_

_**Kira: Uh lyokoMARVEL...**_

_**AN: Not now, Kira. The idea for this chapter was to establish what I consider one of the major driving points in this story, while also emphasizing how the story because much more chaotic for some by the time both this story, and the original SEED Destiny series had come to this point.**_

_**[Shinn notices the censor and frowns before getting to try and say something about Bumblebee only to have the same problem]**_

_**Bumblebee: lyokoMARVEL, Shinn's trying to...**_

_**AN: I know, Shinn's going to try and come in here to give away some spoiler about something, but to be honest, I think I should just cut him a break and let him off easy this time, ya know? I mean, it's not like I always did something seriously messed up to you guys, mostly Cagalli, in the last story so...Anyhow, this will be the point which will also include what will likely be the biggest battle in the story up to this point, at least through the number of major characters that are participating.**_

_**[Shinn silently growls as he tries to get the sign to say something about the Grimlock and Bumblebee, only to once again have everything after their names censored out]**_

_**Cagalli, Kira, Bumblebee, Athrun, Smokescreen, and Arcee: lyokoMARVELanime!**_

_**AN: What?! [sees them all point behind him, and turns to see Shinn messing with the neon sign he was using to try and give away spoilers with]**_

_**Shinn: Come on you piece of junk. This should be working, so why is there a damn censor showing up over this stuff.**_

**_AN: [talking in a low dangerous tone] Shinn, are you trying to use some cheap sign to reveal spoilers?_**

**_Shinn: Eep! Uh...noooo. [sign flicks on to one of the previous spoilers he was trying to reveal] Maaaaybe._**

**_AN: Okay, that stuff I just said about taking it easy on you this time? I changed my mind._**

**_Shinn: W-what're you gonna do? Please don't hit the control and nearly kill me._**

**_AN: Oh don't worry, I'm not leaving this to some cheap cartoon joke Asuka, or some special guest character. This time, I'm gonna deal with you personally._**

**_Shinn: Wait, you're not gonna..._**

**_AN: Let me put it to you this way, dah. Spoiler. [presses control on wrist watch and instantly steps up into cockpit of the Avengers Age of Ultron Hulk Buster armor]_**

**_Shinn: Mommy._**

**_[AN starts chasing Shinn around firing repulsors and smashing the suit's large fists at him in attempts to utterly destroy him]_**

**_Bumblebee: Well, they're going to be busy for a while. We should probably just get on with the story. Smokescreen, would you like to do the disclaimer?_**

**_Smokescreen: It would be my honor Bumblebee_**

**_lyokoMARVELanime does not own anything from any of the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Storm at the Dardanelles**

The following morning after Shinn's little side adventure in Diocuia was rather peaceful at the beginning, as the only real events that took place aboard either the _Minerva_ or the _Xanthium_ was each of the pilots getting to know their new Autobot partners' combat strengths and personalities, with the exception of Yzak and Mirage, as the latter was still insistent on the idea that he did not need help from a human, the addition of the new Gundams, and, of course, Athrun and Yzak showing Heine around the ship. Really the most excitement that had happened at all that day was when Heine insisted that everyone call him by his first name instead of any titles and gave the pilots and the Autobots that were with them at the time a small little speech on why he thought it was better for them to all think of each other as equals, and after that small speech, Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka were all instantly reminded of Jaylen and her attitude toward the exact same thing. Overall, the day was actually rather dull beyond that, well except for one thing.

"Luna, wait up," Shinn called out as he chased after his friend and "secret" crush. "Come on Luna, I thought we were going to hang out in Diocuia today."

"Wouldn't you rather go and see your new _friend_," Lunamaria asked Shinn angrily.

"What? Luna, I told you, I finished talking with Sentinel just a short while ago and I have the rest of the day off," Shinn reminded the girl. "I could even tell you some of the cool things he told me like about what some of the other planets that the ancient Cybertronians once visited were like if you want?"

"Not interested," Lunamaria huffed as she looked away from Shinn angrily.

"Luna, seriously, I really wanted to hang out with you today, but I can't do that if you keep trying to run away from me like you've been doing ever since this morning," Shinn pleaded. "At least tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing, Shinn. Absolutely nothing," Lunamaria replied without even a glance in his direction.

As the three veterans watched the two continue to have their lovers spat, despite whatever they said it was to the contrary, Dearka had to ask, "What's with them?"

"How the hell should I know," Yzak asked, and he and the blonde both then turned to Athrun, silently asking what he knew about it.

"Don't look at me," Athrun immediately told his two friends.

"Didn't you guys hear what happened," Rey asked when he walked up to the three.

"Obviously not," Yzak pointed out. "What're you talking about Za…Rey?" Yzak was really trying his hardest to take Heine's speech to heart, but he found it rather difficult given how ingrained he had gotten into addressing the _Minerva_ pilots by their last names.

"I doubt I need to tell you that Luna, Springer, and Evac all had to go and help Shinn last night when he got shipwrecked," Rey then replied.

"Yeah we heard about that part," Athrun commented. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Apparently he was found with a girl," Rey informed them. "And she seemed to have gotten close to Shinn. _Really_ close."

Dearka immediately gained a smirk when he heard that and then said, "Oh, now I get it. This is Lunamaria's reaction of jealousy that's lashing out at Shinn. What's that one quote from that movie series about a boy in a secret world of wizards? 'Oh to be young and to feel love's keen sting', or something?"

"Yeah that's it," Yzak then answered with his own smirk. "But then you'd know all about that since…"

"Yzak, I swear, if you finish that sentence I can guarantee that you're cockpit will be targeted by the Verde Buster in the near future," Dearka immediately growled in warning.

"Miriallia dumped you," Athrun finished with a smile. When Dearka groaned in annoyance, Athrun then added, "You know, if you just told us what happened between you two, we might let up on this."

"For the millionth time, it doesn't matter! It's in the past," Dearka retorted heatedly.

"I don't know, it sounds like it could be a good story to me," a new voice then said, and the four then turned to see Heine walking over to them. "Sorry to cut in you guys, but the captain needs my fellow FAITH members and I on the bridge right away."

Athrun and Yzak immediately tensed with worry as the latter of the two asked, "Did something happen?"

"Not sure," Heine replied. "But Sentinel and some of his commanding Autobots are going to be at the meeting as well, so it must be something really important."

Athrun and Yzak both nodded in understanding and then excused themselves from Dearka and Rey so that the two could do some small work on their respective machines, but what neither of the two knew was that they would be in for a very great shock at the news they would receive when they arrived on the bridge.

* * *

"Did you say that the Earth Forces are receiving reinforcements near Suez," Yzak hollered the minute he heard the news.

"Yes that's right," Talia confirmed. "We still don't know if they're going to target Gibraltar or come our way, but the timing suggests that they'll try and take back what they lost. I'm sure they'll want to reopen their land route to Suez."

_"I myself and Z.A.F.T. headquarters both feel the same way, so we'll be heading out into battle again soon enough,"_ Sentinel said from over his holo-communicator with Chromia and Blaster next to him.

"What kind of forces do they have at Suez, other than their incoming reinforcements that is," Heine then asked.

_"Forget about the numbers for now, there's a bigger problem that'll surely bring you down. They've got the _Tidal Wave _out there in that battle zone, plus the Carrier we faced in the Indian Ocean,"_ Blaster quickly rapped.

Everyone was confused by Blaster's rapping for a minute until Arthur pieced it together and exclaimed, "You mean the one carrying those three machines they stole from us?!"

_"Got it one, not bad son. This ain't gonna be easy, so we'll just be sure we're ready,"_ Blaster rapped in confirmation.

"One, are they talking about the Armory One thefts, and two, does he always talk like that," Heine whispered to Athrun.

"Yes, they are, and yeah, he usually does most of the time," Athrun confirmed, suppressing a shiver from the memory of when Blaster had finally caught up to him and given him that "rap lesson" he promised. That was a scary time for Athrun.

_"Moving on from the bad rapping,"_ Chromia immediately interrupted before Blaster could do anymore of said rapping. _"Our ships will be moving out to intercept as well. We'll be heading for the first line of defense at the Dardanelles, and guard the entrance to the sea of Marmera."_

"Agreed," Talia said. "We should leave at o' six hundred hours. Is this plan alright with you, Heine?"

"Yes, of course it is," Heine instantly replied.

"Then I'll start getting the ship ready immediately, ma'am," Arthur then said.

"Good. Gentlemen," Talia then dismissed the Z.A.F.T. soldiers on the bridge.

Just as Athrun and the others were about to leave, Sentinel called out, _"Athrun, there's something else you should probably know."_

"Yes, Sentinel," Athrun asked.

_"The reinforcements that the Earth Forces and the Eradicons are expecting are from the Orb Military,"_ Sentinel then revealed.

Athrun's eyes immediately widened and he quickly protested, "Orb's an enemy? They can't be!"

_"I understand that may be difficult to grasp, but right now they are just as much our enemy as Lockdown, his forces, and the Earth Forces are,"_ Sentinel told Athrun apologetically, though Athrun could tell from the look on his face that the apologetic tone was forced. _"And all Z.A.F.T forces in this region and my own Autobot forces have been given the order to stop the Earth Forces and the Eradicons from invading the Black Sea. A battle is inevitable at this point, and right now they are a part of the Earth Forces which makes them a part of the Eradicons. Is that clear?"_

Athrun could tell that Sentinel was really saying that he was expected to fight against Orb at his best and at the same time was testing his resolve to do so, and while Athrun did not want to give the reply he did, he knew that to maintain his cover he had no other choice than to say what he said. "Yes sir, Sentinel Prime," Athrun immediately replied. "If you don't mind, I'd like to inform the other pilots myself, or at least Shinn Asuka."

Sentinel and Talia both nodded in agreement to that and Athrun in understanding, and the veteran of the First Bloody Valentine War immediately left to find Shinn, already having a pretty good idea what the former Orb native's reaction to this would be.

* * *

Shinn's reaction to the news that they would be facing Orb was exactly what Athrun had expected it to be, that being stunned into silence for a few minute before yelling and slamming his fist into a nearby wall, not that Athrun could blame him, and a minute after that, Shinn said that he would still fight to protect others, and that included the Orb Forces, so Athrun was sure that Shinn would be fighting at his best both to defeat the Eradicons and Earth Forces, and save as many Orb Forces as he could. With that in mind, Athrun was now finding himself wondering how he was going to face the Orb Forces while maintaining his cover in Z.A.F.T., and that had led him to head up to the deck for a few minutes just as the _Minerva_ was heading out with the _Xanthium_ right behind.

"So you were in Orb all this time," Heine's voice suddenly observed, bringing Athrun out of his thoughts as he turned to see Jaylen's brother approaching him. "I've heard from others it's a wonderful nation."

"Yes it certainly is," Athrun replied with a fond smile.

"This place is beautiful too, in its own way," Heine then commented as he looked out to the departing form of the Diocuia port. After hearing Athrun agree with him, Heine then adopted a serious look as he half-asked, half-stated to his fellow FAITH pilot, "You'd rather not fight. I mean, against Orb."

"That's true," Athrun admitted. "But to be honest, I'm really not alone in that regard."

Heine nodded in understanding, knowing full well that Athrun was referring to Shinn, and then asked, "Alright then, who would you prefer to fight?"

Athrun was completely caught off guard by that question, and could only stutter, "It's not like I want to fight…someone specific."

"Yeah I thought so. Same here," Heine chuckled. He then got serious once more as he told Athrun, "That sums it up, eh? Stop worrying. You have to concentrate. We're in the middle of a war, and we're soldiers. If you forget, then you will die."

Athrun looked at Heine for a minute, remembering how he had been wondering if it would be okay to bring him in on what was really going on, but after what Heine had just said, Athrun was suddenly not so sure. He then reminded himself that he would have to think about that later, and decided to just agree with Heine for the moment and then turned to head back inside after a few more minutes out on the deck talking with Heine about what it was like working with Optimus's team during the last war, and what he thought working with Sentinel's team would be like in comparison.

* * *

A short distance away from the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_'s destination, the Orb fleet was meeting with Neo Roanoke and Lockdown to discuss their plan for the upcoming battle, much to Yuna Roma Seiran's ire on the latter of the two. "I see, the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmera," Yuna muttered to himself for a minute before he began to boastfully give out his idea on how to proceed. "If it were up to me, I'd wait for them here and attack them when they arrive. We should confront those ships as they come out of the straight. I think that's our best bet."

Neo Roanoke had to nod in agreement while Lockdown kept silent as Yuna carried on, feeling that he should only speak up if this speck calling himself Orb's Supreme commander said something that was worth a comment. "Z.A.F.T. has the _Minerva_ and that new Prime's ship, the _Xanthium_, and I understand your concern with those ships, but that's the beauty of my plan. If those two ships are the core of their defense and we destroy them, then their entire line will collapse."

"I see you're not the supreme commander of Orb for nothing," Neo complimented the Seiran. "We'll give Orb the honor of leading the attack. You can lure the enemy to either the left or the right, and we'll join the attack from that side. Is that alright with you, Lockdown?"

Lockdown only nodded in reply as Yuna boasted, "My thoughts exactly! It's a beautiful plan."

"I believe that we'll encounter the enemy as soon as we get to the straight," Neo then informed Yuna. "We're counting on you."

"Just leave everything to us," Yuna assured the masked soldier of the Alliance. "You'll see how great the Orb military really is, and especially how great it is without those large metal freaks."

_"Try to keep in mind that those _freaks_ are a much greater threat than you realize if you were to simply annoy them enough human brat,"_ Lockdown warned the man with the stupid ponytail.

"Of course, Lockdown," Yuna gritted out. "I meant no offense towards you; I was simply referring to the Autobots."

Lockdown nodded and then excused himself from the meeting as Neo did the same so that he may return to his own ship for the approaching battle, both missing the glare that Yuna had thrown at the spot where Lockdown's hologram was just a moment ago.

* * *

A few hours later, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ were both nearly at the point where they would encounter the enemy forces, and both ships instantly went to combat status with the Z.A.F.T. pilots standing by in their machines, and their respective Autobot partners preparing to launch. As he finished suiting up, Athrun glanced at Shinn as he began to head for the Core Splendor, and then immediately ran up to the Impulse pilot, calling out, "Hey Shinn. Are you really going to be okay?"

Shinn looked at Athrun for a minute before he finally said, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I mean, I know I should be thinking of the Orb forces as the enemy, but I just can't help but feel dirty fighting against them, even if it is what I'm being ordered to do."

Athrun nodded in agreement with Shinn when they entered the elevator that would take them to the mobile suit deck, and after a minute of silence, Shinn had to ask, "Do you think that if she were still there, Representative Athha would've been able to stop this?"

Athrun glanced at Shinn for a minute, unsure of how to respond, but in the end just replied with the truth as he said, "To be honest, I'm not sure. Cagalli may have been raised to go into the world of politics, but that kind of thing is a much more brutal and harsh battlefield than any she had ever been on before, especially since she was the youngest of all the Orb leaders. I know her feelings are sincere, but I won't act like you can run a nation on feelings alone. Even so, I'm sure that somehow, Cagalli will figure out a way to set things right."

"You sure about that," Shinn asked.

Athrun nodded and then smiled at Shinn as he asked, "You really love Orb, even though you're no longer with them, don't you Shinn?"

Shinn paused for a minute before he replied, "Yeah I do. It's my homeland after all, so why wouldn't I? That's why when I fight against any of the Orb forces today, or if I have to fight them in the future, I'll make sure that I do whatever I can to still keep them safe. If I can do that, then I won't be going against my goal to protect everyone and everything that I care about."

Athrun nodded in acceptance of that, and the two then headed for their Gundams to wait for the signal to head out. A minute after they did, the two ships received IDs on multiple Orb machines along with a number of Eradicon drones, and Talia immediately ordered, "Launch the Gundam units now. Ascend from water surface, ten to port."

When he heard Talia's orders, Sentinel immediately ordered, "Drift, Springer, Mirage, and Smokescreen, with me. We're heading out into battle. First Commander, you have the bridge."

"Aye sir," Chromia immediately replied as she placed herself in the command chair after Sentinel left to collect the flight-tech modulator he used off the shore of Orb and head for the launch bay.

A minute later, the pilots and the Autobots that would be partnered with them were all prepared to head out, and began the minute that Shinn called out, "Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor launching!"

"Sentinel Prime, rolling into battle!"

"Athrun Zala, Justice launching!"

"Smokescreen here, I'm heading out!"

"Yzak Joule in the Blu Duel. Launching now!"

"Mirage, ready to make the enemy disappear!"

"Dearka Elsman, Verde Buster heading out!"

"Drift, ready for battle!"

"Heine Westenfluss, Savior. I'm heading out now!"

"Springer, taking off!"

Soon enough, the five pilots and their respective Autobot partners had all headed for the Orb forces, and the minute they had, they had to avoid a missile barrage from the Orb carriers. Heine and Springer were quick to destroy to missiles with help from the Verde Buster's shoulder-mounted missile launchers and Drift's skilled sword maneuvers, and the minute they were in the clear, Shinn, Sentinel, and the others quickly headed after the Orb mobile suits. While Sentinel and his Autobots mainly took on the Eradicon drones, the Gundams were quick to engage the mobile suits, and one could easily tell that Shinn was doing his best to avoid the cockpits of the Astrays and Murasames that he encountered. Though his efforts were impressive, it was not quite enough for some.

"Shinn, stop holding back," Yzak shouted as he slashed through an enemy Murasame with the Blu Duel's beam saber and then fired on some attacking Eradicons with his suit's railgun, vastly annoyed with how his "partner" was ignoring him in favor of fighting Eradicons. "We can't afford to be playing nice like this!"

"I know that," Shinn shouted back. "And who said I was?" He then slashed his beam saber through an Astray's thruster pack, which knocked it out of the air and into the water, and then repeated the same action as he targeted similar points on the Orb mobile suits.

"Well, you've gotta hand it to him on making sure to stay true to his promises," Springer complimented as he fired on some enemy units in his helicopter mode.

"True, but we can't keep this up forever," Heine agreed while firing the Savior's beam rifle.

"We will not have to," Drift told Heine as he slashed through four of Eradicons with his two swords. "The _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ are nearly ready to fire their main guns."

Heine saw this and immediately ordered the others to get clear just as the ships were arming said cannons. A minute later, the two ships had taken aim and were now ready to fire on the Orb Fleet. When he saw this, Shinn's eyes widened in fear and he immediately hollered, "No, don't! Don't fire the Tannhäuser or the _Xanthium_'s cannons, please!"

Sadly, his pleas came too late, and time seemed to slow down as the two weapons began to charge up. It seemed that the weapons would quickly decimate the Orb forces all so they could locate the _Tidal Wave_ and the Earth Forces carrier, but just as the two weapons were about to fire, a green beam blast suddenly struck right through the _Minerva_'s cannon and a blue energon blast hit the _Xanthium_'s, canceling out the two ship's attempted attacks and destroying the weapons in the process.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock at the sight, and only Shinn could voice the question everyone was wondering. "What was that, and from where?"

The answer came just as quick as the attacks had, for a mere second after Shinn had asked the question, a familiar white and black Gundam with blue wings soared through the sky into view alongside an equally familiar red and blue Autobot leader who was equipped with a modified version of the standard flight packs. As he swooped in, the latter of the two shouted out, "Autobots, stand down now!"

"The Freedom," Shinn gasped in shock.

"Kira," Athrun gasped in nearly equal surprise, but not entire surprise since he suspected that Kira and the others would take action after hearing about what Orb was doing.

"Optimus," Smokescreen then gasped at the sight of the one who was once known as the last Prime.

A minute after the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ had both landed on the water's surface, the sea broke, and the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ revealed themselves before the frozen combatants, all of which were staring in shock at the sight of the two great heroes that had suddenly appeared before them, and each with different thoughts running through their minds. A minute later, the_Archangel_'s starboard catapult opened, and from it came the familiar form of the pink and red version of the Strike Gundam, the Strike Rouge, which was followed soon after by Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Elita One, and Bulkhead from the _Omega II_. The minute the Strike Rouge was floating in the air alongside the Freedom, the pilot of the pink and red version of the Strike Gundam called out, "I am the Orb Union's chief representative, Cagalli Yula Athha."

"Lady Cagalli," Shinn cried out in shock, and his surprise was reflected on the faces of nearly everyone on the battlefield save for Neo Roanoke, Sentinel Prime, Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka.

"Attention Orb Forces, cease fighting at once. Disengage," Cagalli then ordered. "It's true that for certain reasons I'm presently away from the homeland; however, that does not change the fact that I, Cagalli Yula Athha, still hold the position of chief representative of the Orb Union. I am hereby ordering you; the Orb Forces must follow the nation's ideals, cease fighting, and withdraw their soldiers immediately!"

_That's our girl_, Athrun thought to himself, seeing that Cagalli was now finally showing her true self to the Orb forces once again, but his good mood soon changed when the sound of blaster fire reached his and everyone else's ears. They all then looked to see that Mirage and Springer had opened fire on the Strike Rouge, and the mobile suit would have been hit had Bumblebee not taken off and quickly blocked the shots with an energy shield that he was carrying. What came as more of a shock than the two Autobots firing on a mobile suit so quickly was the fact that all the other Autobots that had launched from the _Xanthium_, save for Smokescreen, had quickly engaged the new arrivals a minute later.

The _Omega II_ Autobots that were on the ship's deck were quick to take action in response, as Wheeljack and Bulkhead both blasted towards Drift and Springer, while Elita One headed out to take on Mirage. Optimus himself had to intercept Sentinel Prime before his predecessor could slice the Freedom in half, and Optimus immediately cried out, "Sentinel, stop this! We are not your enemies! All we want is to…"

"Silence Optimus," Sentinel shouted. "If you're forces are willing to attack my ship, and stand against us, then I can see that I was right all along in what I suspected. You are no true Prime, and I will eliminate you and your followers both for your lies and your treachery!"

Optimus could only stare at Sentinel in shock for what he had said, but he then pushed himself back and pulled out his Energon Battle Axe as he said, "Then you leave me no choice, old friend. I had truly wished it would not come to this."

Sentinel only snarled at Optimus as he flew back to his gathering forces while Optimus's own team began to prepare themselves, and the battlefield froze for another moment until both Primes shouted, "Autobots engage the forces of the _Xanthium_/_Omega II_!"

* * *

As the two Autobot teams engaged each other in battle, Neo Roanoke had finally had enough waiting and called Yuna on the _Takemikazuchi_ and demanded, "Yuna Roma Seiran, how do you explain this?"

"Y-yes…well… you see," Yuna stuttered in reply, as he tried to think of something to tell him.

"Who is that person? Is she really your country's representative," Neo interrupted. "If so, then why did she wait until this moment to appear out of nowhere with those Autobots and those ships, and then order your forces to withdraw?"

"I suggest you think carefully Seiran," Lockdown warned. "Because unless I get a satisfactory answer immediately, things will get more than simply sticky for you and your nation. I can guarantee that both will burn otherwise."

"I don't take orders from alien scum like you," Yuna shouted at Lockdown.

Before Lockdown could say anything in retort, Neo cut in between the two as he said, "While Lockdown will not be taking any major actions, I can personally promise that things will certainly get very sticky for you and your nation if I don't get a satisfactory answer immediately, and that also holds true if you don't learn how to respect your allies and superiors. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, well it's just…what I'm trying to say is," Yuna continued to stutter, getting more and more infuriated by the minute as he recalled how Cagalli and her alien freak friends humiliated him back in Orb, until finally, he came up with an answer. "SHE'S CRAZY! I DON'T KNOW WHO SHE IS!"

Neo seemed to accept that answer with a simple smirk and then closed the line as he ordered Stella, Sting, and Auel to head out into battle, while Lockdown prepared to take action with the Eradicons. The same could not be said for the Orb soldiers on the _Takemikazuchi_, though.

"Lord Yuna, what are you talking about," Captain Todaka demanded.

"That's the Strike Rouge, sir," one of Todaka's officers pointed out in agreement. "And take a look at the crest. That's Lady Cagalli's."

"Look, just because it's her mobile suit and her crest doesn't mean that it's her," Yuna shouted, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than the others. "We…We just don't know!"

"But sir, that's her voice," another officer then argued.

"It…it's someone impersonating her," Yuna then retorted, still sounding like he was trying to convince himself, as Todaka and everyone else on the bridge could tell. "I can tell. I know her best; after all, I am her husband!"

"Lord Yuna, as I recall you were never actually married since Lady Cagalli herself objected to your marriage to her, and besides," Todaka tried to reason, but his reminding Yuna of that humiliating moment, only threw the idiot representative into more of a blind rage.

"Look, even if it is Cagalli, then she's been brainwashed! The real Cagalli would never do something this stupid and make a fool out of me," Yuna shouted, still trying to convince himself of his argument.

"Again, there was that whole thing where she objected to marrying you at the altar," Todaka's second in command, Amagi, pointed out under his breath. His reward for that was Yuna hitting him across the face in anger.

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH," Yuna hollered. "I DON'T CARE WHAT ANY OF YOU THINK YOU KNOW, THAT IS NOT CAGALLI, SO JUST HURRY UP AND ATTACK THEM AND THOSE FOUL BEASTS THAT CALL THEMSELVES THE AUTOBOTS!"

"How can you give that order," Todaka demanded.

"If we don't the Earth Forces and the Eradicons will attack us," Yuna then pointed out, just calming down enough to point out one of the few logical points he had made during the whole conversation. "It's too late to turn around and say sorry we quit, because if we do they'll attack us and our country!"

Todaka knew that Yuna was right in that regard at least, and he lowered his as he sadly gave the order to prepare to fire. The minute they were ready, albeit after some hesitation, Todaka thought to the blue winged mobile suit, _I'm counting on you Freedom_. "Fire!"

* * *

The minute everyone saw the Orb ships firing a missile barrage on the _Archangel_ and its two mobile suits nearly everyone's eyes widened in shock, with the exception of Athrun who simply narrowed his eyes at the realization of who was likely to be leading the attack. The only one not completely shocked by this development was Kira as he quickly brought the Freedom before the ship and his sister, and then fired every one of his Gundam's weapons on the approaching missiles, with Cagalli finishing off the last ones after she finally shook herself out of her daze.

At that point, the battle recommenced in full, as the Earth Forces suddenly appeared to attack the _Minerva_, and the Eradicons soon after to attack the _Xanthium_, and Lockdown's forces were out in full, leading everyone to believe that the ship was either being commanded by drones or was fully automated and capable of fighting without a full crew on board. Soon after, Sentinel and the other _Xanthium_ Autobots who were already out in the field were quickly joined by all of their allies save for Blaster, Tracks, and Blaster's Mini-Cons, and in response, the _Omega II_ Autobots were soon out in full save for Ratchet, and Waltfeld had launched in his custom Murasame to help out.

The sight that followed was one of pure chaos and tragedy, as while Rey and Lunamaria defended the _Minerva_ in their Zakus, and the _Minerva_'s Gundam pilots fought off the Earth and Orb Forces as well as occasionally fighting against the Freedom, the Strike Rouge, and the custom Murasame, they had to witness the horrible sight of Autobots fighting against Autobots while both factions of the Cybertron army was also fighting against Eradicons. Athrun saw Bulkhead go toe to toe with Crosshairs, Hound having shoot out with Scattershot, and even Wheeljack crossing blades with Drift, as the Wreckers were fighting a battle of brother against brother. The next time their blades crossed, Wheeljack shouted, "Why are you doing this Drift? Why support such an insane order when you know that we're on the same side?"

"My apologies Wheeljack," Drift replied as he pushed Wheeljack away and slashed at his legs, only to find his blade avoided when Wheeljack jumped over it and then retaliated with a downwards slash, which Drift quickly blocked. "But even if I did wish to defy my orders, I cannot. I have a debt to Sentinel that I must repay in full, and if doing this helps me to do so, then my honor demands that I must."

"I'm sorry you feel that way then," Wheeljack then commented, and he then started swinging his blades at Drift even faster and harder than ever, at which point, both Wrecker teams were also fighting against Cyclonus, Demolisher, Bonecrusher, and Crumplezone.

As she fired from her position on the _Minerva_, Lunamaria could see the Aerialbots flying into action just as the Protectobots had arrived on the scene, and it was barely even a few seconds after that when the female Z.A.F.T. pilot saw the two combiner teams form into Superion and Defensor, and then collide their massive fists against one and other. The minute they did, Superion brought up his free arm's cannon, and Defensor just barely flew out of the way in time to avoid the shot that his fellow combiner had fired. "Superion, stand down and surrender yourself," Defensor shouted, channeling Prowl's policeman-ship as he did.

"Not happening, Defensor," Superion immediately retorted in reply, and he then engaged a pair of arm blades that extended from his Wing Saber arm, and charged just as Defensor intercepted the blow with the Trick-Shot Twins' combined rifles. The two then found themselves caught in a three way battle with Menasor the minute the Stunticons had arrived on the battlefield, and thus the battle of combiners reached a level that would have proved dangerous for any one too close to it, be they mobile suit forces or Transformers.

Heine was quick to engage the Gaia in the Justice, and he quickly knocked the land based Gundam down to the ground and off the ship it was on as he looked on at the sight of Ironhide and Jazz exchanging blows with Springer and Blur. Though they were having some small amount of difficulty given Blur's speed and Springer's abilities as a triple changer, Ironhide and Jazz were no slouches, even with Blur talking a mile a minute. "You really should just give up right now, since you can't win. We have more numbers, a better ship, better weapons, and are basically just better than you all around because we're in the right while you're in the wrong by supporting the fake Prime and…"

Blur was finally silenced when Jazz took careful aim with his Scatter Blaster and fired at the exact spot that Blur was running to, and all Optimus's first lieutenant had to say in response was, "And you talk too much for anyone's enjoyment."

Springer was quick to charge at Ironhide as soon as Blur was knocked of his feet and into a fist fight with Jazz, but being the Autobot weapons specialist for as long as he had been meant that Ironhide was always quick to react to a situation, and as such he was prepared to pull a Path Blaster on Springer. Springer then quickly evaded Ironhide's shots until finally, Ironhide had successfully blasted Springer out of the air and into his robot mode so that the two could meet each other in hand to hand.

Shinn did his best to avoid fighting the Orb Forces and when he did have to, he only targeted points that were away from their cockpits, making sure that the new arrivals saw that he was doing everything he could to help keep the Orb soldiers alive, and while he was doing that, he could see Smokescreen and Bumblebee facing off, though the former was a bit more hesitant than the latter. "Bumblebee, please, just give up. I don't want to fight you," Smokescreen begged his hero.

"I don't want to fight you either kid," Bumblebee replied. "But right now, you're boss has made a call that makes us enemies, but I don't think you want to do that. Just leave Sentinel and join us."

"I can't do that," Smokescreen replied as he activated his phase shifter to allow Bumblebee's blasts to go right through him. "Sentinel and his team let me join right out of the academy, gave me my big break to do great things, and have practically welcomed me as one of their own. I can't just turn my back on them!"

"I get that, Smokescreen, but are you sure they consider you as one of their own? What makes you so certain that they're not hiding something from you," Bumblebee then asked. Smokescreen did not have an answer, and he was nearly hit by Stinger because of his hesitation, had his phase shifter not been active and Bumblebee not intercepted Stinger before he could fire.

"I'm gonna enjoy tearing you apart cadet," Stinger shouted. "Just like I did back at Autobot Academy so often, my student."

"You lost the right to call me your student long ago," Bumblebee snarled. "And now, I'm gonna make sure you pay for your crimes against us." With that, Bumblebee and Stinger charged each other just as Smokescreen found himself facing off against Sideways before he could make a move to help at all.

As Bumblebee and Stinger began their showdown, Cagalli and Waltfeld were engaging Earth and Orb Forces while simultaneously facing off against the Chaos and the Eradicons Blitzwing, Thrust, and Astrotrain. As Cagalli avoided a blast from Blitzwing, wondering to herself how she and Waltfeld got stuck fighting some of the only Eradicons who could actually fly, she was nearly hit by a blast from Chromia, had Arcee not intercepted it at the last minute. "Cagalli, get out of here," Arcee shouted. "There's nothing more you can do here to help stop this from happening."

"I'm not leaving you guys to fight this alone," Cagalli immediately argued. "This is just as much my battle as it is yours, and if I have to fight against my own people to get them to stop and see reason, then I will!"

Arcee smiled at Cagalli's determination for only a second before her face hardened and she said, "Then get out of here and go back up Waltfeld. Leave this to me."

Cagalli only nodded to Arcee and immediately headed back to the golden Murasame, before the blue femme turned to face her sister just as Chromia said, "You must have a death wish, Little Cee. You know I can beat you."

"It's been a long time since those days, Chromia," Arcee retorted as she whipped out her arm blades and flew at her older sister, just as they suddenly found themselves caught between fighting each other, and fighting against Snowcat and Thunderblast.

As Kira fought to stop the two sides from fighting, and Yzak and Dearka fired on the Abyss to keep it from hitting any of their allies from underwater, the three could all see Optimus and Sentinel going at it and clashing Battle Axe against Double Bladed Sword until finally Lockdown joined the battle of leaders and threw his hook hand into the mix as well. Kira was about to move to backup Optimus when he suddenly had to bring the Freedom to a halt in order to avoid being hit by a beam blast. Looking to the source, Kira was surprised to see that it was the Justice that had fired on him, and he then had to block the follow up blow with his shield. As he evaded the next slash from the Justice's beam saber, Kira called out, "Athrun, what're you doing?! Stop this!"

"Sorry Kira," Athrun called out over his radio, tapping the controls as loudly as he could without anyone noticing. "But right now, I'm a soldier of the _Minerva_, and since you attacked the ship, then that makes you my enemy, no matter how much I don't want you to be."

Kira's eyes widened in surprise for a moment until he heard the tapping sound that Athrun was making on his controls. That was when he realized that Athrun was relaying his real message in Morse Code while he said something that would keep his cover intact. Upon realizing this, Kira gave a small smirk as he replied, "I understand."

With that declaration, the Freedom and the Justice, two Gundams who had once fought side by side like brothers, engaged each other in a battle that was rivaling that of the three leaders nearby. What no one really noticed though, unless they were to actually look for it, was that the whole time Kira and Athrun were fighting, their attacks were actually hitting the enemy suits and Eradicons, the whole time making it seem like it was the result of their attacks on each other having missed. Just as he was about to fire the Freedom's railguns, Kira noticed the Gaia flying towards an unsuspecting Savior with its beam wing blades powered up, and he reacted as quickly as he could.

Kira quickly flew the Freedom towards the Savior at its maximum thrust, and the moment it was close enough, it pushed the Savior down with both feet, making it seem like he was using the red mobile suit as a springboard, and then leapt up, allowing them both to avoid the Gaia's attack, and allowing Kira to charge at the Gaia and slash its wing blades apart with his beam saber. Heine could only stare in shock at the Gundam that had just saved him, wondering why he did it, until they all suddenly saw the Earth Forces send out a signal flare to retreat. The minute they had, the Eradicons and all the surviving Earth and Orb Forces immediately returned to their ships and quickly left the area.

After watching their enemy go for a minute, the Z.A.F.T. pilots glanced in the direction of Sentinel Prime's team and saw that they had been distracted by the Earth Forces' and the Eradicons' move to retreat long enough to allow Optimus Prime and his team to escape with the _Omega II_ and the _Archangel_. After confirming that the two surprise forces had left, the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot forces returned to their ship so that they could make field repairs and then head for Port Turkios for full repairs. The whole time he was returning to the ship and then after, Athrun could only gaze off in the direction that the two ships had disappeared in hoping that Kira had gotten his other message.

* * *

**_[AN still trying to tear Shinn apart with the Hulk Buster while Shinn runs away screaming like a little girl]_**

**_Cagalli: Wow, he is really mad at him._**

**_Kira: Yep._**

**_Smokescreen: Hate to say it since we worked together so much, but better him than me._**

**_Bumblebee: You said it, kid._**

**_Arcee: No argument there. But on another note, now you all see why this is considered to be one of the biggest battles in the chapter so far, at least when it comes to the number of major characters involved._**

**_Bumblebee: I know right, plus we've added a bit more to the mystery of my personal history with the Eradicons, particular with Stinger._**

**_Cagalli: Can't wait to see what the story there is._**

**_Kira: I think we may actually find out next chapter._**

**_Smokescreen: Plus now it's pretty much confirmed that Sentinel did not even once believe that Optimus really is a Prime for some weird reason. I hope that gets explained soon._**

**_Kira: I think the only explanation we'll be getting is the version Sentinel will use to cover up his actions, but enough on that, we need to wrap this chapter up for now, so since the author's busy, I guess we might as well say on_**

**_AN:[pauses in blasting Shinn to run into the camera's view of Kira] Onto the preview!..._**

**_Athrun goes out to contact his old allies from the _****Archangel_ and the _Omega II_, covering it up as a mission to try and locate the two ships so that he could talk to them and get them to stop what they were doing, while Shinn and the others are told Sentinel's true stance in reference to Optimus Prime's team. How will Shinn and the others react to Sentinel's declaration on the original Autobots? Meanwhile, Shinn, Rey, and Heine are given a special assignment from the _Minerva_'s captain, but what sort of horrors will they find as a result? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_Chapter 12: Mysteries in Darkness_. Justice, Smokescreen, fly to the truth in your quest for answers!_**

**_[AN goes back to blasting Shinn]_**

**_Kira: Well, I guess we'll just say..._**

**_Kira and all the others in this authors note: Please read and review, and we'll see you next time!_**

**_Shinn: Someone save me from this crazy maniac!_**

**_AN: Die spoiler boy!_**


	12. Mysteries in Darkness

_**AN: Sorry for the wait everyone, but we are back with more Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels!**_

_**Bumblebee: Uh, where's Shinn?**_

_**AN: Hm? Oh Shinn...ehehe, yeah, I might've kinda, sorta, gone a little...overboard with his punishment for trying to give away spoilers in the last chapter.**_

_**Bumblebee: A little overboard? What happened?**_

_**AN: Um...I'm...afraid that I cannot disclose details on that at this time, but I will say that it was a good thing he did not need to do much this chapter, so hooray for that!**_

_**Lunamaria: Normally, I'd be almost tempted to say something close to a spoiler, but after what happened last chapter, I'm scared of what'll happen. This guy's a maniac.**_

_**AN: Am not!**_

_**Bumblebee: You attacked him with the Hulk Buster from Avengers: Age of Ultron! I'm pretty sure that we have the right to call you a maniac.**_

_**AN: Am not! You want to talk to a maniac, I can either call up the Joker, or you can go find Deadpool.**_

_**Luna: Why do we need to find Deadpool?**_

_**AN: Do you really have to ask?**_

_**Luna: No, good point.**_

_**Durandal: I don't see why you are all so worried. It's not like anything will happen if you mention that after they get back to Orb, Optimus will...**_

_**AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control and every villain from the Kingdom Hearts series to date immediately attacks Durandal]**_

_**Luna: Um, dare I ask how you got those guys to come here?**_

_**AN: I've kinda got pretty into the Kingdom Hearts series recently, which may or may not be why I'm so behind on my updates.**_

_**Durandal: [left as black as soot, and then collapses from attacks as he lets out a puff of smoke from his mouth. Xehanort kicks his head once more for good measure]**_

_**AN: Anyways, do we have any reviews we can answer today?**_

_**Luna: Well let's see...Oh, didn't you want to say something in response to "Ice Wolf Fang's" review?**_

_**AN: Right, that one in which he told me why he hated some of the recent versions of Sentinel. Yeah, I hated those versions of Sentinel Prime as well, and in reference to Team Sentinel's other members, I'm not going to say whether or not any of them will live or die by the end of this story, but I will say that some of them might be spared or let off a little more easy than others.**_

_**Bumblebee: How about this one from "Lone Gundam"?**_

_**AN: Oh that one. Yeah I'll be honest, that one made me laugh, and still does. [Starts chuckling a little] You...you'll find out why later on, because to explain why now would be me giving away a spoiler. Anyhow, let's get things rolling...**_

_**I do not own anything from any of the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 12: Mysteries in Darkness**

After they had arrived at Port Turkios, the two ships had immediately begun undergoing repairs, while anyone who was not assisting with the repairs were assisting with treating the injured or preparing the bodies of the dead to be transported to a morgue until they could be given a proper burial. While it may not be as bad as it could have been had the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ not shown up, it was still bad and left many people wondering why the two ships had shown up and their forces made such a stupid decision, at least in their eyes, and it also made them think that things would have been better if the _Omega II_ Autobots, the Freedom, the _Archangel_, and all the others that had come with them had stayed out of it. Though not everyone thought like that, those who did not think like that were still greatly confused by what had happened, and among those who were confused were four of the seven _Minerva_ pilots, especially in the case of Shinn Asuka. "Were they even the real Freedom, _Archangel_, _Omega II_, and Team Optimus Prime," Shinn asked his fellow pilots.

Everyone looked to Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka, knowing that those three would know best, and while all three of them knew it was the real thing that had appeared, given how the _Xanthium_ Autobots had reacted, they felt it best to not say as such, so they simply shrugged their shoulders to say they did not know. Before anyone could say anything more on the subject, the sound of a horn caught their attention, and they all turned to see Blaster rolling up to them in his SUV mode. The minute he had pulled to a stop, the rapping Autobot immediately said, "Hey little dudes and dudett, Sentinel wants to see you all for something real important."

"Sentinel wants to see us," Athrun asked in confusion. "What about?"

"Wouldn't say, which is really lame. All he said was that Captain Gladys would be there too, and you should hear what he has to say as well before any other fool," Blaster replied, and though it was still in rap, everyone could tell that Blaster was being serious. With that said, they all immediately climbed into Blaster's vehicle mode, and the _Xanthium_ communications specialist immediately raced off for his ship.

A few minutes later, the pilots, Talia, and Arthur were all gathered in the _Xanthium_ conference room with the pilots' Autobot guardians, and the rest of Sentinel's senior officers, with the Prime himself sitting at the head of the table. The minute Sentinel saw that everyone was here, Sentinel stood up and began speaking as he announced, "I am sure I need not remind anyone of the events that had occurred yesterday when the _Omega II_ and its allies suddenly appeared on the battlefield. I had long suspected that something was not right with the story Optimus and his Autobots had attempted to sell us back in Orb, but now, they have all but confirmed my suspicions. Which is why, it is with a heavy heart that I must say this. I, Sentinel Prime, am officially declaring Commander Optimus and all those who follow him as rebels and traitors to the Autobots who are to either be apprehended or destroyed on sight."

The reaction to Sentinel's declaration was very mixed. While a small number were not surprised and others only mildly so, the majority reaction was one of pure, utter, and for some even horrified shock at what Sentinel had just said. Even Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka, who were already suspicious of Sentinel and what he might do the minute that Optimus's team revealed themselves from wherever they were hiding, could not believe their ears at hearing Sentinel's words. In the end, the only one who could break the silence was Shinn as he finally demanded, "What…what do you mean by that?! Why are you declaring them as traitors with those kinds of orders?! Earth was saved from Megatron and the Decepticons during the last war thanks to Optimus Prime and his…"

Shinn was immediately cut off when Scattershot slammed his fist on the table as he told Shinn, "Shut your mouth, kid! You really don't have clue about what's really going here, do you?! In case you hadn't noticed, that lousy little librarian practically screamed to the whole universe that he was _not_ a real Prime!"

"Scattershot," Sentinel immediately hollered, and the _Xanthium_ Wrecker immediately calmed down before backing off. Now, everyone was shocked at Scattershot's reaction to Shinn's words, because up until now, he seemed to be the most calm and levelheaded of all the Wreckers on the _Xanthium_, having never once lost his temper. Sentinel then coughed to get everyone's attention back onto him as he explained his reasoning for his newest orders. "While Scattershot may have been out of line with the way he said what he did, he is correct in what he said. Optimus had lied to you and many others. He is no Prime, and I realize that may be hard to believe, and that you may think that is not true because you have seen what he has claimed to be the Matrix, but I assure you that whatever that trinket is that he is carrying around, it is not the Matrix, but a very convincing fabrication."

"But sir," Tracks suddenly interrupted. "I've studied everything about the Primes and the Matrix, and I am more than confident that what we saw was indeed…"

"As I said, Tracks, it is a _very_ convincing fabrication," Sentinel cut in before Tracks could finish a fact that did not sit well with the _Xanthium_'s regular tactical officer. "If you will all recall, it was Optimus who first made contact with Megatron, and it was Optimus's speech before the council that led to the start of the war on Cybertron, because of Megatron's supposed jealousy and anger at Optimus's 'betrayal'. You may think that it is simply because of the fallen Decepticon leader, but I ask you, what proof is there that Optimus was not in league with Megatron all this time, and this was all a part of an elaborate ruse for Optimus to gain power and drive Cybertron to destruction? After all, the two were brothers."

That caused everyone but Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka to pause and think for a minute, and while some would admit that they could see where Sentinel was coming from, it still did not mean they flat out believed him, at least not right away. Sentinel then stood up from his seat and walked around to the nearby window before he said, "Megatron may be destroyed, but clearly, Optimus's influence and lies has poisoned the entire universe including this world. That is why I am telling both you and your pilots this now Captain Gladys, because hearing these facts directly from me now, would be better than hearing them from someone else. That is why I ask that should they ever reveal themselves again, that you all engage the Autobots of Orion Pax the minute you have the chance, if you are able."

"Orion Pax," Dearka asked in confusion. "I understand not wanting to address him as a Prime, but isn't going so far as to just reverting back to calling him by his old name a bit much?"

Sentinel scowled at the blonde and then stated in what Dearka, Yzak, and Athrun all recognized as a menacing tone, "He does not deserve the name Optimus."

With that, the meeting came to a close and Chromia, Scattershot, and Springer all immediately left the room, with some of the other Autobots following a minute later, save for Crosshairs, Sentinel, and Smokescreen, who still had something that he wanted to ask. "Sentinel Prime, sir," Smokescreen spoke up nervously. "Uh…about the last battle…"

"I do not wish to discuss anything involving Orion Pax, Smokescreen," Sentinel immediately told the youngest member of his crew.

"It's not that sir," Smokescreen said. "I was actually wondering if you could tell me why the Eradicon, Stinger, would refer to Bumblebee as his student."

At that, Sentinel immediately froze and his previously enraged face became one of somber and nostalgia and he was quick to notice the Z.A.F.T. Forces of the _Minerva_ were suddenly staring at him in wonder of the same thing. Sentinel then muttered to himself, "I had almost forgotten about that." The Prime then turned to Crosshairs as he asked, "Could you fill them in on that Crosshairs? After all, you do know the story better than anyone else on this ship."

Crosshairs nodded and as soon as Sentinel had left the room, the Autobot paratrooper looked to the others as he softly commented, "I can't believe I didn't remember that before. I guess that would explain why he never told any of his new Earth pals about it." Crosshairs looked to Athrun, Shinn, Lunamaria, and Rey before he asked, "You guys remember when I told you about how Bumblebee took on a group of Eradicons during his days in Autobot Academy, right?"

"Yeah," Athrun replied on behalf of everyone, truly curious about this.

"Well that operation didn't really begin and end in a day," Crosshairs then began, as he recounted the story, not knowing that someone else was doing the same thing, right at that moment.

* * *

Beneath the seas outside of the Kingdom of Scandinavia, Bumblebee was training inside the _Omega II_'s simulation bay, and from a simple glance, one could tell that it was not only so that he could sharpen his skills and make sure his pre-existing ones could stay sharp, but also so that the scout could work off some anger that had clearly built up since the last battle for some reason. The force behind his punches and the way he decimated any of the targets he fired at were all clear signs that the normally cheerful and confident scout was seriously pissed off, and it was something that was beginning to concern Kira and Cagalli as they watched him from a safe distance.

"Hey, Bee," Kira called out in an attempt to get the scout's attention, but Bumblebee either did not hear Kira or just ignored him as the scout continued to tear through the simulation.

"Come on, Bee. Just take it easy," Cagalli called out as she moved to take a step forward, but she quickly found her path blocked by Arcee's hand.

"He needs to get it out of his system, little sister," Arcee told Cagalli sadly as she looked on, knowing full well what the cause was. "It's actually something we should've expected given that Stinger was there."

Kira and Cagalli looked from Arcee back over to Bumblebee, still concerned about their friend, until they finally nodded and left the room with Arcee. After walking for a short time, Cagalli finally asked, "What's the real deal with Stinger, anyway? At least the deal with him in reference to Bumblebee."

Arcee looked down at the twins before she sighed and began telling the two the tale. "Well, I'm sure you remember hearing about how Bumblebee first encountered the Eradicons when he was a cadet, but what you don't know is that it didn't happen over the course of a single day, which is part of the reason why it's so hard for Bumblebee to remember it. It was actually at the same time that I was there along with Cliffjumper, Tailgate, and another friend of ours. We had all just enrolled, at the academy a few weeks earlier, and while others were doing great or at least rather well, Bumblebee was not exactly all that good at first. In fact, he actually bombed a number of combat simulations in a bad way, both figuratively and literally."

"You're kidding," Kira exclaimed. "Bumblebee was that bad? Our Bumblebee, who went toe-to-toe with Dreadwing the first time he fought alongside me and the _Archangel_?"

"I know. It's hard to believe for me that he was ever that bad now too," Arcee chuckled. "Though he did work his aft off trying to get better, but really, a major help to him came from somewhere you would probably think was completely unexpected…"

* * *

_A young Bumblebee was out in the Autobot Academy courtyard by himself, practicing his hand-to-hand combat moves, only to stumble all over himself every few jabs or kicks, and then finally opened fire with his practice blasters on some make-shift practice targets, only to miss a majority of his shots and have the ones that hit only be on the edge of the targets. Seeing his poor results, despite his efforts, Bumblebee just slumped to the ground and cried out in frustration as he hit the metal ground with his fists. He continued to just sit there screaming at himself for his poor level of skills when he heard someone call out, "Hey, at least you're doing better than you did in the last combat class."_

_ Bumblebee immediately turned to look behind him, and upon seeing a red and black 'Bot that was similar in appearance to him, he scrambled to his feet to stand at attention and said, "Sergeant Stinger, sir! I didn't know you were there, sir."_

_ "At ease kid. It's not like we're in class or something. You can just call me Stinger, especially since I'm not all that many cycles older than you," Stinger waved him off. "You're Cadet…Killer Bee right?"_

_ "Uh…actually its…Bumblebee, si…uh, Stinger," Bumblebee corrected sadly, knowing that somehow the universe had known he would be a bumbling fool for most of his life, even after joining the Autobot Academy, and had convinced his carrier to name him as such._

_ Stinger immediately apologized for his mistake and then smiled as he walked over to Bumblebee and placed an arm around the cadet's shoulder as he told him, "Look, kid. I'll be honest, I see a lot in you, and I can tell you really want this, and for all the right reasons too, and I'd hate to see you give up or have those dreams of yours taken away before you get the chance to really shine and show the world you're capable enough to make it in the Autobots. So, I'd like to help you out, if you want it that is."_

_ "Really," Bumblebee immediately perked up, never expecting any of his instructors to offer him help in anything, if at all._

_ "Meet me at the Second Training Hall after classes tomorrow and we'll get started right away," Stinger simply said, and he allowed himself a small smirk at Bumblebee's yes sir in reply._

* * *

"Stinger actually trained Bumblebee," Shinn exclaimed in surprise, a shock that was shared by everyone in the room who did not already know.

"Yeah, and to be honest, I never expected it either," Crosshairs replied. "Stinger was never one to take a personal interest in any of the cadets under his command, and yet he took an interest in Bumblebee. Stinger is, effectively, Bumblebee's first teacher."

"Whoa," Lunamaria gasped. "I never would've guessed that…"

"I know, no one would've, unless they were there for it," Crosshairs assured the girl. "And the guy really put the kid through the ringer too, trust me, I saw his training with Bumblebee once, and it looked brutal on the poor cadet. Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me and I finally asked Stinger why he was so interested in helping Bumblebee…"

* * *

_A younger, less war-tested Crosshairs was walking down the corridors of Autobot Academy until he finally saw his red and black target of mystery. "Hey Stinger. You got a nano cycle," Crosshairs asked. At Stinger's nod in reply, Crosshairs immediately asked, "Why are you going out of your way for that one cadet? It doesn't really seem like you, and the kid's pretty hopeless, so why do it?"_

_ Stinger looked out the window to see Cadet Bumblebee with Arcee, Cliffjumper, Tailgate, and a blue, red, and black Autobot with a yellow visor on top of his head walking through the courtyard, and finally replied, "I don't really know to be honest. There's just something about that kid that makes me think he's going to go far someday. I don't really know where that feeling comes from, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that the two of us have such similar designs."_

* * *

"Did he really say that," Kira asked.

"Well, that's what a friend of our pal, Hot Shot, told him after he overheard it, anyways," Arcee clarified.

"Wow. I guess that some Eradicons weren't always so bad after all," Cagalli commented.

Arcee smiled a bit in remembrance of those days as she continued, "To be honest, after a while, it really started to show that Stinger honestly did care a great deal about Bumblebee, and even after our tough scout had gotten to the point he didn't really need Stinger's help anymore, the two would still meet up and spar against each other, and even hang out with us every now and then, until finally it became obvious that they had become sort of like long lost brothers. Of course, back then, Bumblebee never could win a match against Stinger in any of those spars…"

* * *

_ It was another somewhat peaceful afternoon on the otherwise war ravaged Cybertron, and Bumblebee and Stinger were both circling each other in a make-shift sparing ring that they had set up sometime back, both waiting for the other to make a move. After finally running out of patience, Bumblebee charged in and took a swing at Stinger, only for Stinger to lean to the side to dodge it, and then land a hard kick before knocking Bumblebee out of their sparring ring with a single punch. "Want to go best two-out-of-three," Stinger asked._

_ "Heh, you're on," Bumblebee smirked, and he immediately stepped back into the ring for another round, only to end up on his back once again._

_ "Want to go best three-out-of-five, now," Stinger asked._

_ Bumblebee slowly sat up and rubbed his head a bit before saying, "Nah, I…I think I've gotten enough dents for one solar cycle."_

_ Stinger smirked in victory before he declared, "Ha, so now I'm stronger and faster than you, and better looking! Maybe Arcee will go out on a date with me if I ask her."_

_ "What?! No way," Bumblebee immediately retorted to the laughing mech. "And leave Arcee out of this!"_

_ "Leave Arcee out of what, exactly," the femme herself suddenly cut in, putting both mechs on edge since she sounded mad. They then turned to see Cadet Arcee standing there and they did not need the wisdom the Primes to know that she was more than simply mad, because her appearance said that she was pissed off. When the two could only stutter in response, Arcee added, "I hope you two macho mechs aren't using me as a betting item in these spars of yours."_

_ "What? No, of course not," Stinger immediately replied smoothly as he wrapped Bumblebee in a one-armed hug. "I'd never use my little brother's girlfriend as a bargaining chip, and neither would he."_

_ "Stinger, she's not my girlfriend," Bumblebee shouted indignantly. He then turned to Arcee to see that she was still clearly mad, and then tentatively asked, "So, what's up Arcee?"_

_ "What's up is that you're late," Arcee retorted. "We were supposed to meet Hot Shot, Cliffjumper, and Tailgate for a drink after class, and that was cycles ago."_

_ Bumblebee immediately cringed, since he had completely forgotten about that during his sparring sessions with Stinger, and was about to come up with a lame-sounding excuse when Stinger cut in saying, "Sorry about that Arcee. It was all my fault. How about I make it up to you guys? Diner's on me tonight!"_

_ "You don't have to do that Sergeant," Arcee tried to say, but Stinger would not hear of it, and he quickly wrapped his free arm around Arcee as he dragged the two best friends off._

_ "I insist, and I've told you, outside of class its 'Stinger', not 'Sergeant'. Besides, it's the least I could do after taking up Bumblebee's time that he was supposed to be spending with friends," Stinger then added, and he immediately threw Bumblebee a look that said the young cadet owed him one. Stinger just got a thankful look from Bumblebee in reply, and the three were soon on their way to meet with the other three for the dinner Stinger was treating them to._

* * *

"Sounds like they were all really good friends," Athrun observed with a small smile.

"Yeah, but Stinger was still an Eradicon, so it was never going to last," Crosshairs said sadly. "Unfortunately, Bumblebee found that out the hard way."

"What do you mean? What happened," Dearka asked.

"Simple, the day when the Eradicons finally made their move happened…"

* * *

_ Nearly every teacher had vacated the premises due to having been called away on an urgent mission, but what none of them knew was that it was actually a fake transmission that allowed the Eradicons full run of the premises. The rouge Decepticons were all about to finally get the Intel they were after, when some of them were suddenly hit by a blast from the blue, red, and black form of Hot Shot. "Hey you wannabe Decepticreeps! Looking for this highly classified Autobot Intel? I've got it right here, so come and get it," Hot Shot shouted as he waved a small, metal pad in the air for all of them to see._

_ The minute that the Eradicons heard that, they had all charged after Hot Shot, who simply transformed into vehicle mode and raced off before he tossed the item over to Tailgate, who ran off in another direction. Just when it seemed like they were catching up to Tailgate, the Autobot cadet launched the pad over to Cliffjumper, just as the red cadet had leapt into the air before transforming to his alt mode. Finally having had enough, one of the Eradicons fired on Cliffjumper and made him return to his bipedal mode on instinct, accidentally dropping the pad as he did. _

_ "I'll take that you irritating little insect," Thrust said as he scooped up the pad. He then got a good look at the pad and then shouted, "Hey, this isn't a collection of Autobot Intel! This is just autograph pad!"_

_ "Oh hey look! Signed by Zeta and Sentinel Prime, and Alpha Trion," Cyclonus suddenly said as he got a look at the pad._

_ "What, really," Thrust asked. "Wow, that's actually really impressive. I wonder how many credits we could get for this."_

_ "Absolutely none since you'll be returning it to its rightful owner in a minute 'Con," a voice suddenly shouted out. The Eradicons all looked to see Bumblebee and Arcee standing there, as the former continued what he was saying, and he warned them, "First, you're going to give me back my book, and second, you're going to leave here with nothing, or I will activate this control which will send all of you losers flying down into the most treacherous parts of the inside of Cybertron."_

_ "You wouldn't," Thrust declared._

_ "You care to make a wager on that," Arcee asked with a vicious smile. Suddenly, a red blur raced across the room, pulling the trigger from Bumblebee's hand. Bumblebee and his friends were about to panic when the cadets all relaxed upon seeing that it was actually Stinger._

_ "Stinger, am I glad to see you," Bumblebee sighed in relief. "Now we can send these guys packing."_

_ "Yeah Bumblebee, we can," Stinger replied. "Packing with all of the Autobot Intel we need."_

_ "What," Bumblebee asked in confusion._

_ Stinger just laughed for a minute before he explained, "Sorry kid, but my comrades and I aren't leaving without that Intel, especially after all the trouble we went through getting it."_

_ "You and your comrades? W-what're you talking about Stinger," Bumblebee asked, fearing that he already knew the answer. "Are you saying that you're with these guys?"_

_ "Of course Captain Obvious," Stinger retorted. "I was just posing as one your instructors along with the rest of my Eradicon brothers here, all so we could get what we needed."_

_ Bumblebee just stared at Stinger in shock for a minute, not believing his audio receptors or his optics, and then demanded as best he could, "So then, all that stuff you said to me about how you thought I had potential to go far, all that training, was all a lie? Were you only pretending to be my friend? You were like my older brother, Stinger, or was that a lie too?"_

_ Stinger looked at Bumblebee for a minute before he sighed and said, "No Bee, it wasn't all a lie. I really do think you have potential, and I do think of you as a little brother. I just never said what I thought you had potential for. Come with me, Bumblebee. Let's make Cybertron ours together, as true brothers in the Eradicons."_

_ Everyone was silent, waiting with anticipation for Bumblebee's answer, as the cadet let everything Stinger had just said sink in. All the words that his older brother figure had just said, all the things he had implied, and even the actions that he had taken just now were running through Bumblebee's processor so rapidly that he could only begin to absent mindedly reach out for Stinger's extended hand, making everyone think that he was going to accept Stinger's offer. At least they were until Arcee shouted, "Don't do it, Bee! You're better than he is, than any of them are! You've been training your after burner off like crazy trying to become an Autobot! Are you just going to throw that away to join up with some gang of criminals?! I know you're better than that, and that you're nothing like what that traitor…"_

_ Anything more that Arcee had to say was immediately cut off when the sound of blaster fire filled the room. Everyone's attention was then drawn to the sight of Arcee having been shot by Stinger, and she was now barely keeping herself sitting up straight as she clutched her side. "It's too bad, really," Stinger commented like what he had just done was nothing. "I really did like you a lot."_

_ Stinger then turned back to Bumblebee, only to find that the hand Bumblebee was reaching out with had just clenched into a fist and had now collided with his face. Stinger then looked to see Bumblebee glaring down daggers at him, betrayal and hate clear on his face, as the cadet told his teacher and older brother, "Don't you _dare_ touch her! I would never work for any form of lousy 'Cons like you and your kind, or Megatron's, and I will definitely never forgive anyone who would try to harm my best friend since sparkling-hood! I am going to wear my Autobot badge with honor and pride, and I will then hunt down and stop all 'Cons, including you, a mech who is no longer my teacher or my brother! You've betrayed all of us and me…and now, you're dead to me."_

_ Stinger gazed at the cadet for a minute before he closed his optics and then said, "Fine. We're leaving now."_

_ "That's not your call to," Thrust started to protest._

_ "I said we're leaving, Squid Head," Stinger snarled. He then looked back to Bumblebee and then warned him, "Know this though kid, as of today, you are no longer my student, and the next time we meet, I will snuff out your spark."_

_ Bumblebee glared daggers at Stinger before he replied, "Not if I snuff yours first…'Con."_

_ With those final words exchanged, the Eradicons all left the Autobot Academy grounds, and the minute Hot Shot had confirmed they left, Bumblebee immediately rushed over to Arcee's side to check her wound before he transported her to a medical center._

* * *

"I survived of course," Arcee finally finished, "But I knew for a fact that Bumblebee had suffered the greatest injury out of us all. He still blames himself for never seeing that Stinger was a traitor, and that's why he's now determined to bring down Stinger once and for all, if for no other reason, than to make him pay for the scar his betrayal left on Bumblebee's spark."

"Oh my god," Cagalli gasped quietly, and Kira had to agree with his sister's sentiment.

"I guess that explains why Bumblebee always glares daggers at someone he doesn't trust right after meeting them," Kira then said. "That kind of betrayal would make anyone hate someone that they didn't trust automatically after meeting them like Bumblebee is normally able to."

Arcee nodded in reply, and with that the three went off to allow the scout his time to vent and also to think about everything that had just happened and that they had learned.

* * *

"I never would've expected anything like this could've happened to Bumblebee, of all people," Athrun commented quietly as Crosshairs had finished.

"I know," Smokescreen agreed. "I mean, the thought of anyone doing that to Bumblebee is a crime in and of itself. I mean, he's one of the greatest of all Autobots."

"Was the greatest of all Autobots, kid," Crosshairs corrected. "In case you hadn't noticed, Sentinel just declared your big hero a traitor, along with his leader."

At that point, everyone was reminded of Sentinel's orders pertaining to the Autobots of the _Omega II_, and the Z.A.F.T. soldiers all had to wonder if they would be receiving similar orders in regards to the _Archangel_ some time soon. With that in mind, Athrun knew that he had to do something quickly, and he knew exactly what that something was. His mind made up, Athrun then determined to speak to Captain Gladys the minute they had all returned to the _Minerva_, feeling it was not safe to speak with her about it while they were still on Sentinel Prime's ship. As the _Minerva_ forces were leaving the _Xanthium_, they never noticed Tracks watching some of them closely in wonder, as the Autobot began to think about whether or not some of them really could be of help to him.

* * *

A few minutes after the Z.A.F.T. soldiers had returned to their ship, Athrun had gone to meet with Talia to request that he be allowed to leave the ship so that he could attempt to contact the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_. After hearing his reasons for contacting the _Archangel_, along with the fact that he simply wanted to warn Optimus and his team of Sentinel's declaration in reference to them, and that he was making the decision to do this as an operative of FAITH, Talia Gladys was more than happy to allow Athrun to leave the ship. As he was leaving the _Minerva_ though, Yzak had stopped Athrun for a minute to warn him to be careful and that one never knew who could be listening in. Athrun had immediately taken the hint to mean that there was a strong chance that someone would be tailing him, so he would have to be careful when it came to what he said and did if he made contact with anyone from the two ships he was searching for, and then he simply nodded to Yzak to say that he understood before climbing into the Justice and heading out on his mission.

After finding a suitable place to hide his mobile suit, Athrun had immediately changed into the civilian clothes he wore as Alex Dino, sunglasses included, and rented a car so that he could speed things up in his search. If Athrun were to be honest though, he had no idea where he was going to even start. He knew that he had to contact the two ships somehow and let them know of what he had recently found out since he last contacted anyone from the ships, but he was not entirely sure that there was even anyone in Turkios that knew about the two ships' true intentions, or even if there was anyway he could send out a message saying that he needed to meet with them. As these thoughts and possible ideas on how to accomplish his goals ran through his head, he caught sight of a familiar brown haired girl with a camera bag crossing the street, and he knew that he had just found his solution. He quickly pulled to a stop, and then turned around in his car to call out, "Miriallia!"

The woman crossing the street immediately stopped and then turned to face Athrun, revealing Athrun's guess to be correct when he was immediately greeted with the face of the former CIC of the _Archangel_, Miriallia Haw. Miriallia immediately ran over to Athrun's car as she called out, "Athrun Zala?! What're you doing here?"

"It's a long story, and I promise I'll fill you in, but right now I need your help," Athrun told the girl. Miriallia stared at Athrun in confusion for a minute before telling him of a small café nearby that they could talk at, and then immediately climbed into Athrun's car so that he could drive them there. It was only a few minutes later when they were seated outside of the café that Athrun had finally filled Miriallia in on what had happened with him lately, at least up to the point where he had rejoined Z.A.F.T.

"So when the war began, you didn't stay with Orb, but instead went back to Z.A.F.T.," Miriallia summarized aloud, making sure she had understood correctly.

"Well, it's simplifying things, but that's what happened," Athrun clarified, and Miriallia immediately nodded in response, knowing Athrun's real reasons for rejoining his old allies in Z.A.F.T. Naturally, she knew the basic details of the plans that Team Optimus, Cagalli, and the others had made, just like the rest of the former _Archangel_ crew members and those that they had allied with that they knew they could trust, so she was not in the dark on what was really going on. Athrun then smiled and said, "Oh by the way, I was actually assigned to the team that Dearka's on after I rejoined Z.A.F.T."

Miriallia only made a face at that before she turned away with a huff while muttering, "At least someone is around to keep that guy in line."

Athrun just sighed in exasperation and said, "Not you too." When Miriallia raised an eyebrow in confusion, Athrun explained, "We've been trying to get Dearka to tell us why you two broke up ever since it happened, but he won't tell us anything other than something along the lines of 'It doesn't matter' or 'it's in the past'. Please tell me you can at least give me a small clue on the matter."

"Nope, not gonna happen," Miriallia replied with another huff. "Like that idiot says, it's in the past."

"Well, at least now I know it's not because you two found out you didn't have anything in common," Athrun muttered. "Anyway, right now, I need to talk about the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_. I know the two ships had left Orb, but why did they show up here. When they interfered, things got a little…"

"A little messy," Miriallia filled in. She then reached into her bag and pulled out some pictures of the battle that had just taken place the previous day, noticing that Athrun had thrown her a signal to say that there was a chance they were being watched as she did. "I saw the whole thing from beginning to end," Miriallia explained as she slid the pictures over to Athrun and discreetly nodded to show she had gotten the message. "What do you want to accomplish by searching for the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_?"

"I just want to talk," Athrun replied as he set the pictures down, very impressed at the girl's work and now able to clearly see why she decided to become a photographer. "I want to meet with them, and warn the Autobots about something that Sentinel Prime had decided. I feel like they have a right to know about it."

"Even though you're a member of Z.A.F.T. again," Miriallia pointed out. After a moment of silence between the two, Miriallia sighed and finally said, "Yes, it can be arranged. I can put you in touch as long as it's just you." Miriallia then glanced to the side as she admitted, "It's my country, but I haven't been back to Orb in a long time. I don't exactly know what's happening there, but I can't imagine anybody being happy about this situation, especially Kira and Optimus."

Athrun nodded after a few seconds and then finally said, "Thank you, Miriallia."

Miriallia returned his nod and then said that she would let him know the moment she got a reply on when they could meet up with the others and where it would be, and with that, the two parted ways, with a certain violet-red haired Z.A.F.T. pilot trying to discreetly watch them the whole time. Trying, be the key word since Athrun had noticed she was there a little while into the conversation.

* * *

That night, everyone on both the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ were thinking about what they should do now that they had made their intentions clear and allowed Z.A.F.T. to know that they were out there, and it was really quite the question considering what had happened the minute after Cagalli had finished her speech on the Transformers side of the battle. Optimus was having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that Sentinel and his forces had all-out attacked them and that his former friend had called him a traitor and a fake Prime, but the hardest thing for him was the fact that yet another friend had become his enemy. This did not go unnoticed by anyone whether they were human or Autobot, especially in the case of his sparkmate.

"I know its hard Orion, but we knew there was a chance this might happen," Elita softly told Optimus as she placed a soothing hand on his own.

"I realize that Ariel," Optimus assured his sparkmate. "But all the same, I cannot help but wonder if there is something wrong with me."

"What do you mean," Elita asked.

"I have likely lost two dear friends when Zeta Prime had perished and when we lost all trace of Alpha Trion, and I have now been betrayed by another two friends," Optimus explained. "How many more of our kind that I consider dear to my spark must we lose before this terrible war is over?"

Elita's face fell for a moment as she realized what was really troubling Optimus. It was not that Sentinel had betrayed them and made it clear so quickly, it was that Optimus believed it seemed that he was losing very precious people to him all the time now, and it was truly breaking his heart. Knowing this, Elita just walked around the table they were sitting at so that she was both in front of him and they were directly facing one and other, and then wrapped her arms around him as she whispered, "I promise you, you are never going to lose me, or any of our friends from Earth or on this ship. You just have to have faith Orion, not in who everyone is now, but in who they can be, and who they will be."

Optimus returned the hug with a warm smile, truly grateful for Elita's words, and then whispered a small I love you into Elita's audio receptors before their lips met in a small, yet passionate kiss. They would have continued to a more heavy session of making out when they were suddenly interrupted by the ship's short range communication alarm, telling them that the _Archangel_ was attempting to contact them. Optimus reluctantly pulled away from Elita, with his sparkmate throwing him a look that clearly said they would pick up where they left off later, and then tapped the control to open the line, bringing up an image of Murrue, Waltfeld, Natarle, Kira, Cagalli, and the rest of the _Archangel_ bridge crew as it did. "Go ahead _Archangel_," Optimus called as his own bridge crew stepped up to the monitor.

"We just picked up a transmission on the terminal," Murrue told Optimus's communicator hologram that had appeared on the _Archangel_'s bridge. "I think you should all hear it as well."

"What does it say," Bumblebee asked.

"I saw an angel and a league of knights at the Dardanelles," Aisha read off of the screen in front of her for everyone. "I'd like to see them again. The red knight is also looking for the princess. Please respond, Miriallia."

"Miriallia," Murrue and Elita both gasped in surprise.

"Who's the red knight though," Lacus asked. Even though she was fully aware of some of the codes that they had all agreed on, she was not as fully versed in them as most of the others were.

"Athrun," Cagalli immediately replied.

"I saw an angel and a league of knights at the Dardanelles," Murrue muttered to herself as she thought over what the message had said.

Jazz was the one who reached the conclusion to what it meant first though, as he immediately exclaimed, "Miriallia must've been in the vicinity of that last battle!"

"She is a freelance news photographer these days," Elita reminded everyone, having kept in touch with Miriallia much more than everyone else since the former CIC had left Orb. "Her being there wouldn't be that unusual."

"So Athrun's back from the PLANTs at last," Waltfeld sighed as he looked to the _Archangel_'s ace mobile suit pilot. "So, what'll we do Kira? Someone could be setting up a trap, but the message is a little too clever for that."

"Plus it does fall in line with the code we set up among ourselves and any allies we had informed of our plan to," Natarle pointed out. "Even so, with a little investigating, it wouldn't be too hard for people to find out she would know how to contact us."

Everyone was silent for a few minutes, until Kira finally decided, "Let's meet them. If it's true that Athrun's back, then he should be able to tell us what's happening in the PLANTs, inside of Z.A.F.T., and even what he knows about Sentinel's plans."

"I agree, Kira," Optimus stated. "But we still run the risk of Athrun being followed by Z.A.F.T. if his cover has been blown in even the slightest. We cannot risk sending out either of the ships to meet them."

"I know, and that's why I'll be going alone," Kira informed Optimus.

"Oh, no you're not," Bumblebee immediately retorted. "I'm going too."

"And so am I," Cagalli added. Kira looked at Cagalli in surprise, and the blonde immediately became a bit flustered as she tried to explain her reasoning.

Kira simply smiled since he knew that Cagalli wanted to go because she wanted to see Athrun again, and then said, "Okay. Cagalli and I will meet them, but everyone else should stay here."

"Like Pits we will," Ironhide argued. "If there is a chance that Athrun's cover has been blown even a little, then Sentinel might have sent some of his own 'Bots to deal with you guys, and I don't mean in any kind of polite way either."

"I agree, Ironhide," Optimus said. "Never the less, we cannot send out a full force." Optimus then turned to his old friend and the team's medic as he said, "Ratchet, prepare the Ground Bridge for Bumblebee and Elita One. Be sure to provide them both with landing coordinates that will be a safe distance from the meeting place, and a different set of coordinates for when they wish to return."

"Any particular reason for such complexity," Wheeljack asked.

"We cannot risk Sentinel tracking us based on where we deploy our forces via the Ground Bridge," Optimus explained.

Elita then walked up and asked, "But why send me as well?"

Optimus simply smiled and said, "I know that you wish to see Miriallia again after being separated from her for so long." Elita looked down with a sheepish smile, confirming what Optimus said, which led the Prime to add, "Go and see her, Elita, but when you do, remember that your primary mission will be to serve as Kira and Cagalli's guardian alongside Bumblebee."

With their plans set, everyone agreed to contact Miriallia with their answer and of the place and time the meeting will take place, and then agreed to set out first thing tomorrow afternoon via the Ground Bridge. Having concluded their impromptu meeting, everyone quickly dispersed to resume their routines for the evening before turning in or assuming their night shift posts.

* * *

It was sunset by the time Kira and the other three had arrived at the meeting place, and in no time at all, they were all standing there, with Bumblebee and Elita One using their holo-forms, both now sporting civilian attire that was the same as Kira and Cagalli's except for the fact they were in each Autobots' respective colors, waiting for their friends. At that point, they heard someone call out, and they all turned to see Miriallia running towards them, which caused Elita to immediately brighten up at the sight of the girl. "Miriallia," Elita called out happily as she ran over to wrap the girl in a hug. "It is so good to see you!"

Miriallia froze for a minute until she recognized Elita's voice and quickly returned the hug with an overjoyed smile of her own. "It's great to see you too, Elita," Miriallia told her old friend just as happily. She then turned to the others and said, "You know, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that it was actually the Freedom and Optimus Prime flying around out there. Though, I did hear about how you guys kidnapped the bride and then hightailed it out of Orb."

"To be fair, the bride had already objected to her own wedding and landed a hard punch in Yucka's smug, arrogant face," Bumblebee said as he crossed his holo-form's arms.

The three girls all laughed in response to the scout's comment until Cagalli became serious and asked, "So where's Athrun?"

Miriallia looked away for a minute before she replied, "I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you in the message because I had to be careful. He's rejoined the Z.A.F.T. forces."

The four were about to say that they already knew that, a fact that Miriallia should have at least suspected as well, when they saw her gesturing to them in American Sign Language, saying that Athrun had a feeling that he was being followed by Z.A.F.T., so they would need to be careful in case his eavesdropper was watching them right then. Upon seeing this, they immediately gave a small, discreet nod in reply, and immediately started to act as though they were surprised by this news just as the Justice flew overhead and landed close by to where they were standing.

The minute the Justice Gundam had landed and powered down, Athrun lowered himself out of the cockpit and walked over to where the five were standing, discreetly signaling to them in Japanese Sign Language a confirmation that they were being watched as he did, and they all immediately began to fall into the roles one may expect them to fall into at this point. As soon as he was within arm's reach of them, Athrun exchanged greetings with his four friends, and Cagalli ran up to him as she shouted, "Why did you go and do it Athrun? I was…I was so worried about you. I had no way of contacting you, and no way of telling you what was happening. But…but why? Why did you have to go and join Z.A.F.T. again?"

"Because at the time, I thought it was the best thing to do," Athrun replied in a strict tone. "For me and for the nation of Orb."

Kira placed a hand on Cagalli's shoulder as though he was stopping her from saying something she should not, and then asked Athrun, "So why were you in that battle the other day?"

"Because I'm presently assigned to the _Minerva_," Athrun explained. "And, the ship is also officially partnered with the _Xanthium_, much like how the _Archangel_ was with the _Omega II_." Athrun paused for a minute, and then demanded, "I want to know why you guys did that, something so damned foolish! As a result, there was chaos on the battlefield!"

"Well I wouldn't say that. I mean the Chaos is one of the mobile suits that the Earth Forces stole form Armory One, and last I checked, we weren't with them," Bumblebee joked.

"You think this is some kind of joke," Athrun shouted at the scout, getting Bumblebee to genuinely jump back in shock at Athrun's outburst. "Because of what you guys caused, there were unnecessary sacrifices!"

"It may have been foolish, but the enemy you guys were about to take on was an Orb fleet, and we wanted to stop that," Elita argued. "And I'd say it was a good thing we tried to, since you guys were about to fire a positron cannon and the _Xanthium_'s most powerful cannon at those very same fleets, or has Sentinel's forces forgotten that Autobots are not supposed to harm humans, no matter what?"

"I won't try to make excuses for what the _Xanthium_ crew tried to do, mostly because Sentinel was not on the bridge to stop it from happening," Athrun reassured them. "But did you really think the Orb Forces were going to stand down, just because you made a surprise appearance?" At their silence, Athrun went on to say, "You probably thought you were helping, but that wasn't the way to go about it! Rather than making a speech in the middle of a battlefield, maybe you should've done more to stop Orb from participating in the Alliance in the first place!"

"Now that's out of line, and you know it," Bumblebee shouted, nearly getting right in Athrun's face as he did. "Cagalli did everything she could to stop that from happening, but in case you forgot, she was still new at politics in real practice! Don't blame her for something she couldn't control!"

"Bumblebee," Kira warned his friend. Bumblebee glared at Athrun for another minute before he finally calmed down and stepped back so that Kira could step up and talk to Athrun. "If that really is the case, and you really have gone and joined Z.A.F.T. again, then what's the next step? You were looking for us. Why?"

Athrun knew that Kira was only asking for appearances sake, and he immediately told his friend, "Two reasons. One is because I want to stop you from doing something like that again. I understand about the Junius Seven incident, but since then, the Earth Forces and the Eradicons are completely to blame for this fiasco. Even so, the PLANTs and Sentinel's team are still making every effort to bring this foolishness to an end, and then you guys show up and confuse the situation even further!"

"Are you sure about that," Kira asked, getting a confused look from Athrun in reply. "Do the PLANTs and _Xanthium_ Autobots really feel that way? Do Chairman Durandal and Sentinel Prime really want to end this war and bring peace to our world?"

"I'm sure you've seen both of their speeches," Athrun replied, signaling in the same sign language to say that he doubted it as he spoke. "They're both doing their best."

"And that other Lacus Clyne, or the fact that the Autobots were attacked out of nowhere in the previous battle," Kira asked. "What's the story on that other Lacus up in the PLANTs, or the story on why Sentinel's team just flat out attacked Optimus's the way they did? Maybe you can tell me why a squad of Coordinators and Autobots showed up in Orb and tried to kill the real Lacus and anyone that was with Optimus."

"They tried to have them killed," Athrun exclaimed in shock, showing that he honestly did not know.

Kira nodded and then explained what happened in Orb and how they could tell that their attackers were with the Z.A.F.T. Special Forces and were definitely Autobots who were not with Optimus Prime's team. "I don't want her, or anyone else for the matter to end up getting killed," Kira then went on to explain. "Who in the world would want Optimus to be killed when he had not even seemed to have done anything wrong back then in anyone's eyes other than the Decepticons, or for that matter, who in the world would want to have Lacus killed, and for what reason? Until I have a clear answer to those questions, I'm not trusting anyone from the _Xanthium_ or the PLANTs."

"Don't you think you're jumping to conclusions," Athrun asked. "It could have easily just been a handful of people acting on their own."

"Even in the case of those Autobots," Bumblebee demanded.

Athrun had nothing to say in response, so Kira just stepped up to say, "Athrun, I'll admit that you might be right in what you say, at least on the part of the Coordinators who attacked us, and we don't want to have to do this, but we will if we have to. I'm personally sick and tired of all these battles and all the lives that have ended, either because of my actions, or someone else's, because I know as well as I'm sure you do that what's lost in pointless battle is gone and will never return."

At this point, Athrun's eyes narrowed and he immediately threw a hard punch directly into Kira's gut, causing the young Coordinator to double over in pain while Bumblebee and Cagalli ran up to him as Athrun shouted, "I've had enough of your sanctimonious talk! You think you've got all the answers?! Just spare me your attempts at trying to imitate Optimus, because I know full well that's what you're doing right now!"

Kira groaned for a minute as he clutched his stomach where Athrun hit him, as he replied, "This is not…me pretending to be Optimus. These are my true beliefs…I don't want kill anymore…and I will not let others kill."

"Then that's all the more reason why you should stop interfering and go back to Orb, you damned idiot," Athrun shouted, crying on the inside at how he was treating his friend, even if it was not for real. He then turned away to return to his mobile suit and leave, having accomplished his mission, when Cagalli called out to him, getting him to pause.

"You said that, there were two reasons as to why you came here," Cagalli pointed out when she had Athrun's attention. "What was the second one?"

Athrun hesitated for a minute before he looked back at them and revealed, "It actually ties in with the first in a way, because I wanted to warn you of what Sentinel had decided in reference to Optimus's team after what happened in that last battle."

"What do you mean," Elita demanded while hiding how worried she was on the inside.

Athrun paused before he finally said, "As of yesterday, Sentinel Prime has officially declared Optimus and all those who follow him as rebels and traitors to the Autobots who are to be apprehended or eliminated on sight. Oh, and he also believes that Optimus is truly a false Prime and declared that he has lost the right to even be addressed as even Commander Optimus anymore."

Everyone gasped in shock at this revelation, and at that Athrun finally departed, but not before he cast a small glance in Cagalli's direction, and gave her a small smile that only she saw as he signed in Japanese Sign Language to her saying I love you. Cagalli gasped in surprise when she saw what Athrun had signed to her, and she immediately returned his smile with a teary one of her own as she replied in the same way that she loved him too. Athrun smiled a little more at that, not that anyone really noticed, and then climbed into the Justice, blowing a kiss to Cagalli as soon as he was out of sight to anyone who might have been watching them, and took off to return to the _Minerva_. As Athrun flew off, he received a transmission from Yzak that said that something had happened to Rey after he, Heine, and Shinn had gone to investigate something, and he immediately blasted towards the twos location, which the _Minerva_ was already headed to as well.

A few minutes after the Justice had disappeared from sight, and everyone left had heard the sounds of a helicopter flying away, Kira finally groaned, "He didn't have to hit me so hard! I mean, geez that hurt!"

"Oh suck it up, Kira. Oh wait, poor choice of words," Bumblebee immediately told Kira.

Kira just shot Bumblebee a look that said he was not laughing and then held out a small flash drive for everyone to see. "Where did you get that from," Miriallia asked.

"From Athrun," Kira replied. "You didn't seriously think he actually punched me for no reason like that, did you?"

Miriallia smiled sheepishly in reply, revealing that she actually did for a minute, and then Elita said, "We should leave soon. We need to get that data back to the others as quickly as possible, and there's no telling how long it will be until Sentinel or someone else sends someone out here."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Elita One, and they all prepared to leave when Miriallia stopped them. "I'm coming with you," Miriallia declared.

"Are you sure about that Mir," Kira asked. "You don't have to, and you can still stay out of this."

"I doubt that would be true now that there's a chance Sentinel Prime knows that I can reach you guys," Miriallia pointed out. "And even if that wasn't the case, I would still want to come with you guys. I became a photographer because I love the world so much, but now it's being threatened without anyone even realizing who the real threat is, and I can't just stand by and do nothing when I know I can help."

Everyone smiled at the young woman and then nodded in acceptance. They then decided to return to the hotel where Miriallia was staying for the moment so she could square away what she needed to before disappearing with them, and once that was done, they immediately made a break for the Ground Bridge coordinates that Ratchet had given them for when they were ready to return. As she drove there with her old human partner in the passenger seat of her vehicle mode, Elita had to ask Miriallia, "So, about what happened with you and Dearka…"

* * *

Later that evening, the three Phantom Pain pilots were just returning to their rooms after meeting with Neo and the mechanics about the maintenance and repairs to their machines, when Stella remembered something that she overheard Neo talking to one of the other officers about. "The lab at Lodonia…"

"What," Auel and Sting both asked when they heard her.

"What is it," Stella asked.

The two boys looked between themselves before Sting answered, "That lab at Lodonia. You remember it. It's the place we lived at before we came here."

The boys thought that Stella was just being her usual, ditzy and random self for a minute, until they heard her say, "To make matters worse, Z.A.F.T. found it, and then Neo said…"

"What," Auel immediately shouted as he spun around. He then spun around and began to race out of the room when Sting grabbed him in an attempt to stop him.

"Just calm down, will you," Sting cried out.

"Calm down," Auel demanded. "How do you expect me to calm down?! That lab is the place where my mother…"

Auel's sudden stop immediately caused both Sting and Stella to become concerned, and Sting's concern escalated when his friend began to have a sudden panic attack and shout that mother was going to die, right to the point where he never noticed Stella leaving the room as though she were in a trance. "But I don't want to die," Stella muttered softly as she walked. "I'm scared." The blonde then suddenly paused when she found herself remembering something strange, despite the fact she was sure that it was not something that had actually happened. "Protect…Protect."

Stella's eyes then narrowed with determination and she quickly raced off down the hall and right into her mobile suit. As she started the machine up, Stella shouted out to the mechanics, "Open that hatch. Open it, or I'll rip it apart!"

In the end, Stella had followed through on her threat, and tore the hatch open before she launched off the ship on her own, and immediately transformed the Gaia to its mobile armor mode as she raced off to the Lodonia lab. A few minutes after she had gotten well underway, the sound of a motorboat reached her ears, and she immediately looked to her right to see Thunderblast racing alongside her in vehicle mode in the water alongside the mountain path she was on. "Hey girl, whatcha doin," Thunderblast called out.

"I must protect…mother…lab at Lodonia," Stella replied.

Thunderblast did not really understand what Stella meant right then, but she simply shrugged it off and said, "Sounds like you're headed for a fun party. Mind if I tag along?"

Stella immediately smiled and said, "Yeah, sure Thunderblast."

"Thanks Stel, and don't worry, I've got your back," Thunderblast called out, and the two immediately raced off towards their destination and their target.

* * *

**_AN: So yeah, long chapter, and not a lot of action this time around, unless you count some of the stuff that happened in those flashbacks._**

**_Bumblebee: Speaking of which, now we finally know the full story of my history with the Eradicons. How'd you come up with that anyway?_**

**_AN: Well, I'll admit some of the idea came from Transformers Animated, but really, for the most part, I felt that giving Bumblebee a personal history with Stinger would be a good way for him to have a real reason to hate the guy beyond Stinger being a cheap knockoff like in Age of Extinction, and in a way, it also allows Bumblebee to kind of identify with Optimus in a sense, if you know what I mean._**

**_Luna: Yeah, I can see that, but what was with that whole Athrun punches Kira to pass off a flash drive bit there?_**

**_AN: That came from one of the greatest superhero shows of all time, and the best, serious version of such series from DC since Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice__. Namely Season 2, and for those of you who haven't seen this show yet, need to ask yourselves what the hell were you doing that would prevent you to watch such a great masterpiece?! Seriously, Young Justice was the best superhero show that has been on television in ages, and what they do with it? They try to replace it with that abomination Teen Titans Go! I mean, what the hell?! You want to make a superhero show, then you don't make some stupid comedy crap show that makes heroes seem like total, selfish, jokes, and that's being nice while insulting jokes. Teen Titans Go has the heroes doing stupid comedy crap when everyone knows a real superhero show should be about heroes fighting for truth, justice, and being an inspiration to others in their fight against evil. If you need examples of this, then just look to series like Arrow, the Flash, Smallville, Young Justice, Green Lantern the Animated Series, Beware the Batman, and ask yourselves, how the hell is that abomination that is Teen Titans Go still around when it should have been pulled off any airwaves at least two months after it had aired!_**

**_Bumblebee: Whoa! Hey, easy there! Breathe man._**

**_AN: [panting] Sorry, I just really hate that Teen Titans Go series and how it makes a mockery of all the real hero shows, and can you blame me? Have you heard the motto for their latest commercial?! Having the audacity to call it people's new "favorite show"?! Newsflash, it's people's favorite show to hate, despise, and loathe entirely with all their being! PUT REAL HERO SHOWS LIKE YOUNG JUSTICE BACK ON!_**

**_Luna: Are you done now?_**

**_AN: ...yeah. Yeah I'm done. Sorry about that, needed to get it off my chest. Anyways, Onto the preview!..._**

**_Shinn, Athrun, and their Autobot Guardians engage the Gaia and Thunderblast in battle when the two enemy units attack them while their ships are investigating the lab, and in the process, finding horrific sights and abominations within. Though one enemy is quickly dealt with, what will happen when Shinn discovers the other is the girl he met in Diocuia? The events that follow are ones of tragedy, which will lead them all to a battle that many of them will not want, as the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot forces engage the Alliance and Orb Forces once more, with the _****Archangel_ and _Omega II_ joining the fray shortly after. Can the Autobots truly stomach fighting some of their own, who will fall in the coming conflicts, and just what is going on behind the scenes that may or may not be a sign of dark times that are still to come? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_Chapter 13: Shadows and Tragedies_. Impulse, Sentinel, fight for the cause you currently believe to be true in the quest for peace!_**

**_Shinn: [Bursts into the room from the closet with a cut rope around him] I am going to make you pay for tying me up in there!_**

**_Luna: Wait, you mean you were in the closet the whole time?!_**

**_Shinn: Um, yeah!_**

**_Luna:...lyokoMARVEL, can I borrow that control for a minute? I need to make Shinn pay for worrying me so much._**

**_AN: Sure, here. I've set it to the only command you'll need to use._**

**_Shinn: Wait, what? [Gets blasted by the Kingdom Hearts villains immediately after Lunamaria hits the control]_**

**_Luna: You know, I think I see why do that now. It's actually kind of fun._**

**_AN: I know, right?! And you said I was a maniac. So with all that said..._**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	13. Shadows and Tragedies

_**AN: And we are back for more. Sorry I took so long, but this was just a really long chapter to write, and now I know that you all want to get right to it, and the only thing keeping you from doing so, is the fact that you're reading this boring authors note expecting some kind of gag or something were I torment...I mean warn the cast (cough Shinn cough) not to give away a spoiler before they accidentally do so. So stop reading this, and get to the chapter already, you're in for a real treat this time around.**_

_**Shinn: How about you just let them get to it on their own time, like how you're taking your own sweet time with getting through this story! I mean I'd think you'd get this story going along a bit more quickly than you have been given how often I've heard you rehearse or rethink the scene where Optimus ends up...**_

_**AN: And there it is. DAH! SPOILER! [hits control and releases the most horrifying thing that any series star would have enough sense to fear]**_

_**Shinn: Oh no. Tell me those aren't...[Hears excited screaming] Shinn Asuka Fan girls! [runs away screaming with said fan girls on his tail]**_

_**AN: Hmmm. You know, maybe that was going a bit too far...Nah, I'm sure he'll be fine. So, roll out!**_

_**I do not own anything from any of the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 13: Shadows and Tragedies**

The minute he heard about Auel's breakdown, Neo was quick to make his way over to the two boys and find out what had happened, but he quickly changed directions after he found out that Stella had launched in the Gaia. "You fools," Neo shouted as he ran into the hangar. "Why did you let her out?"

Neo received his answer the minute he saw the door that was next to where Gaia normally stood was completely blown open, proving that the crew did not let her out willingly. Then blonde, masked man then tapped the comm. link in his ear as he called out, "Lockdown, tell me your people can deal with this."

_"I'm afraid that's no longer possible, Captain,"_ Lockdown replied. _"Thunderblast has already gone after the girl to join young Stella in whatever she is doing, and somehow ensured that we could not follow them."_

"How," Neo demanded.

_"That's we're trying to figure out! Do you honestly believe that I ever thought Thunderblast was even slightly capable of doing this,"_ Lockdown demanded. _"Even so, if they are able to destroy any evidence of our activities in that lab, perhaps it is all for the better."_

"And what about the fact that Z.A.F.T. and Sentinel Prime are there," Neo asked, silently admitting that Lockdown had a point but still feeling the need to point out that small detail.

_"Hard to say. If they're lucky, and that's a very strong 'if', then they will likely eliminate a large number of their forces. If not, well then we'll have severed one of our weak links,"_ Lockdown explained. _"And don't pretend that isn't the case with that girl, Roanoke. She is in fact a weak leak for your group, after all, how can one truly be expected to be a true warrior if they're so afraid of dying?"_

Neo just cut the communication at that as he softly snarled to himself at Lockdown's comment. He may have seemed like he manipulated these kids, but he really did care about their well-being, and that was why Neo Roanoke, commanding officer of Phantom Pain, and agent of LOGOS, was praying that Stella would be alright. Thunderblast on the other hand, he could really care less about.

* * *

A few hours earlier, the _Minerva_ had arrived at the facility that Shinn, Rey, and Heine had been sent to investigate after hearing that the three had found it to be a strange laboratory of some kind and Ray had suddenly undergone a panic attack or some other strange reaction that caused both boys to immediately rush to his side and pull him out of the building, fearing for the blonde's well-being. By the time the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ had arrived, night had fallen, and the two ships were quick to set up teams to try and deal with any sort of traps that might have been in place around the Earth Forces Lab, thanks in no small part to Crosshairs, Springer, and Blaster and his Mini-Cons while Shinn, Heine, and Rey reported to their ship's sick bay so that the three could get checked out, just as a safety precaution. Unfortunately, the results of each teams' efforts did not yield results that provided answers that they needed. "All explosives have been removed, and biological anomalies are at zero," Blaster reported in.

"But that means we still don't know what triggered Rey's reaction," Arthur softly exclaimed.

"Even so, perhaps its best to not send Rey into the lab again, Captain Gladys," Sentinel cautioned.

"Yes, I agree," Talia replied.

Just then, one of Talia's technicians announced that the Justice was finally arriving on site, and the three all then turned to see the red mobile suit landing just a short ways away from them next to the Impulse, the Savior, and Rey's Zaku Phantom as it powered down. The minute he left his cockpit and approached the captain and the Prime, Athrun immediately asked, "Yzak told me that something had happened to Rey while he was on a scouting mission, but he didn't say exactly what. So, what's really going on?"

"We're not entirely sure ourselves what happened with Rey," Chromia answered as she stepped up. "But we're about to send a team in to investigate further along with Heine and Shinn, since they've already been in there once, even if it was only briefly."

Athrun nodded in reply and then turned to Sentinel and asked, "Who do you plan to send in, Sentinel?"

"I will be going in myself, along with Blaster's Mini-Cons, Eject and Steeljaw," Sentinel replied. "I'd rather not risk anymore of my men than necessary, assuming whatever caused Rey's reaction could be harmful to Cybertronians as well."

Athrun nodded in agreement with Sentinel's judgment, and then immediately requested that he go in along with them. Talia was quick to allow Athrun's inclusion, and as soon as Shinn and Heine had joined them, they were quick to head inside. What they found in the lab though, was something truly horrible. There were bodies of scientists and researchers all across the first hallway they entered the moment they were further inside than the first team had gone, and from the pools of blood and they way they were lying around, it almost seemed like someone or something had slaughtered them all. Arthur took a cautious step forward, but they all immediately froze when they heard something clatter against the floor. When they turned their lights to the source though, they only saw that it was simply a small vial that Arthur's foot had accidentally kicked. "Seriously man, would you be careful," Eject requested. "We're already freaked out and jumpy enough as it is without you doing stuff like that!"

"Sorry," Arthur sighed, but the minute he raised his flashlight again, he was quick to scream in terror at the sight that greeted him.

"What now," Steeljaw asked. "How am I supposed to sniff out clues for you people if you keep scaring all of us like…"

Steeljaw's complaining was quickly cut off when Eject screamed as well, and they all then turned to see the dead body of a young boy in a pod, and the boy was not alone, as the room was lined with similar such bodies in similar states. "By Primus, what kind of place is this," Eject cried out in horror.

Heine then noticed that there was a badge on the floor near one of the scientists, and quickly kneeled down to get a better look, only to gasp in shock when he did. "Captain," Heine called out. "This man had an Earth Forces badge."

Talia and the others all quickly rushed over to see that Heine had indeed found such an item, and that led them to only one conclusion. "A mutiny," Sentinel quietly exclaimed.

"That's what it looks like," Talia agreed. "They were going to blow up the lab."

"But…w-what's with all the sparklings," Eject asked. "W-why are they here, and why are there so many of them dead?!"

Sentinel gazed around with his Holo-Form for a minute before he sighed in despair and then noticed something else that shocked him to his core. "Steeljaw, is that what I think it is," Sentinel asked worriedly.

Steeljaw moved over to where Sentinel was to get a better scan of what his leader was looking at, and immediately gasped in shock as he replied, "Sir, if you think that's an encoding of CNA then you would be correct."

"CNA," Shinn asked.

"It's the Cybertronian version of what humans call DNA," Eject explained. Shinn nodded in understanding, but all the while, he could not stomach the sight before his eyes which was also beginning to make him as mad as Yzak normally seemed to be. Sentinel then motioned for everyone to keep moving, and the group moved forward, trying their best to ignore the horrors around them, until they finally reached an office with small jars of what looked to be lab grown brains inside of them.

As the others began looking around the lab for clues, Talia and Eject were quick to begin hacking into the computer consoles that were on the desk to try and get something more solid from them as to what this place really was. Talia did eventually find something, but she honestly wished she did not. "Year sixty-four, July," Talia read off as she looked at the images of a number of kids and what appeared to be records on them on her screen while everyone other than Eject gathered around her. "Eleven discarded, three admitted. August: seven discarded, five admitted."

"Captain, what is that," Arthur asked in fear of the answer.

"They're records of the arrival and departure of test subjects," Talia explained. "In other words, children."

"Children," Sentinel exclaimed in soft, barely repressed anger.

"They're the Alliance's Extendeds," Talia then continued. "I'm sure you've heard about them."

Athrun was quickly reminded of such people when he thought of the three pilots he and Kira faced in the final stages of the previous Bloody Valentine War, and his suspicions on whether or not those pilots were such people was quickly confirmed when he saw the image of one of them come up on Talia's monitor, along with the image of that pilot's mobile suit. "Though they detest genetic manipulation, the Alliance and Blue Cosmos are not above creating living weapons through the use of drugs and other means," Talia continued to explain. "Humans who exist only to fight. This is their experimental…production facility. With drugs and other means, they were able to reconstruct and enhance their bodies, enabling them to compete against Coordinators. They were then subjected to the most rigorous combat training imaginable. Those who weren't competitive enough, or who couldn't keep up with the rest were discarded mercilessly. That's the kind of place this was."

"By Primus, they're monsters," Steeljaw gasped. "And they have the nerve to call us as such?"

"Believe me, you guys don't know the half of it," Eject suddenly spoke up, and anyone could tell from his tone, that what he found was no less horrible than what the captain of the _Minerva_ had discovered. "You guys need to see this."

Everyone immediately went over to the computer Eject was seated in front of, and they were all horrified to find what they did. There on Eject's monitor, was the image of what were clearly the remains of a Cybertronian, and all around this Transformer, were technicians who were continuing to pick, prod, and tear apart the massive being. While this horrible sight was shocking to everyone, it was even more shocking to Athrun, who had immediately recognized who this particular Transformer was, because it was one that was ashamed to admit he had fought alongside of in the previous war. "That's Barricade," Athrun gasped in horrified shock the minute he saw the late leader of the Decimators on the screen.

Eject nodded in confirmation of this. "Turns out that Lockdown had approached these guys almost immediately after the war, and then helped them gather up the remains of whatever dead Transformers they could so that they could analyze them like some kind of lab animals," the Mini-Con then said. "From what I can tell, this lab was suddenly repurposed for the use of analyzing and then duplicating the workings and makings of us Cybertronians in some kind of sick attempt to build their own versions of us. They've done whatever they can to unlock all of the secrets a Transformer's body holds."

He then scrolled down to show everyone the images of the other fallen major Decepticons, some Vehicons, and even one that everyone had hoped to either never see again, or just never see after hearing the stories about him. "They've even got Megatron under a microscope," Steeljaw gasped as he began to quake in fear at the mere sight of the Decepticon warlord.

"I may not be Megatron's greatest admirer, but even I feel that he does not deserve something like this," Sentinel snarled. "They may be Decepticons, but they are still fellow Cybertronians, and these monsters have slaughtered them!"

The sound of an explosion from outside immediately put everyone on edge, but they immediately relaxed when Chromia contacted them to say that Sentinel had merely moved outside and transformed to his bipedal mode before smashing apart the closest thing he could find in anger, a fact that was quickly proven true when they saw that Sentinel's Holo-Form had disappeared from where it was previously standing. Sentinel then radioed Eject and Steeljaw to tell them to destroy anything pertaining to Cybertronians in the lab before they left, and the group then quickly gathered all the remaining data that they could before leaving the nightmare that people dared to call a research facility.

* * *

Almost instantly after the group had walked out, Arthur had gone off to the side to throw up at what he had seen while Talia told their teams to notify headquarters of what they found, feeling certain that a team of specialists would be sent out there later, and she then requested for her CIC to continue to keep an eye out for any enemies, a request that Sentinel also put through to Blur while Shinn, Athrun, and Heine filled their fellow pilots in on what they found. Needless to say, Yzak, Dearka, and Rey were all just as horrified as the other three were when they found out, and in some cases, they were even furious.

"This is just insane," Yzak roared. "These bastards go on about Coordinators being a mistake and a crime against nature, while also calling all Cybertronians, Autobot or Decepticon, monsters, and then they have the audacity to create these things?! How the hell can they say tinkering with genes is wrong or that Cybertronians are some sort of evil that should never have come to Earth when they're doing things like this?!"

"I know, what the hell is wrong with these damned idiots," Dearka agreed. "Cause from where I'm standing, they're the only monsters on this planet!"

"I couldn't agree with you both more," Athrun told his two best friends. He then cast a look at a still furious Shinn and Heine as he added, "And the same goes for all the others as well."

"You've got that right," Smokescreen growled as he stormed over to them with Crosshairs, Blaster, and Tracks close behind him, clearly showing that none of the Autobots found this any more appealing than the Z.A.F.T. Forces did, especially after they heard about what Eject had found.

_"Captain,"_ they then heard Bart call out to Talia over the radio. _"One incoming mobile suit ma'am. It's the Gaia!"_

_"Sentinel Prime, sir, that's not all. There's more bad news, unfortunately,"_ Blur then added. _"Which is sort of becoming a theme for us, and I am not enjoying that one bit, and when I have to report it, I get upset, and when I get upset I feel…"_

"Blur, we don't care about that right now! Just tell us what the problem is," Crosshairs interrupted.

_"Incoming Eradicon signal approaching fast, seems to be alongside the Gaia. ID has it listed as Thunderblast, which can only mean that either it'll be a really easy fight, or something really, really bad,"_ Blur reported.

"Just those two," Chromia asked as the Z.A.F.T. pilots raced to their machines. "Are you sure that there's no sign of anything else?"

_"Negative; no sign at all. Nothing, zip, zilch, nada, zero,"_ Blur instantly replied.

"What are they thinking," Talia wondered to herself.

"It doesn't matter right now," Sentinel told the _Minerva_ captain. "We need to defend the complex."

"We're on it," Shinn, Athrun, and Heine immediately said simultaneously.

Sentinel nodded and then turned to the three pilots' respective Autobot partners and ordered, "Smokescreen, Springer, with me. It's past time we scratch one of those bastard Eradicons off the list."

"Yes sir," the two replied, and the three immediately raced off after the three Gundams that had moved to engage the Gaia. A matter of seconds later, the six saw their two opponents racing towards them, and they were quick to engage them both.

"Hey, who invited you party crashers," Thunderblast shouted as she transformed and armed her launcher before firing at the three Autobots and the Gundams. They were all quick to evade the attack, and they then split into two groups to take on one of the two enemies.

"Careful you guys," Athrun warned his fellow pilots and the three Autobots. "If they're here to destroy the facility, then they could be carrying some kind of special equipment. We need to defeat the Gaia without blowing it up, and try to take out Thunderblast as swiftly as possible without accidentally setting off that equipment."

"The only equipment that party bitch ever carries is that oversized launcher of hers," Springer told Athrun as he transformed to his helicopter mode and opened fire from above. "So I think it's safe to say that the only one we need to worry about with that would be the Gaia."

"But still, how are we supposed to beat it without blowing it up," Shinn asked as he swerved to the side to avoid the Gaia's beam cannons. His small moment of distraction though, ended up causing him to be rammed by the black mobile suit, sending the Impulse falling out of control.

Upon seeing this, Heine instantly transformed the Savior to mobile suit mode and opened fire with his beam rifle. Though his shots missed, they served their intended purpose, as the Gaia had leapt into the air to avoid any follow-up shots, only to have one of its wings cut off by the Savior. A minute later, a barrage was unleashed upon the Gaia from behind it in two directions, and the pilot of the Gaia was quick to notice that the Justice had separated its wing pack to allow it to attack from two directions, granting Shinn the moment he needed to stabilize the Impulse and charge back into the battle. "Shinn, can you flank it from bellow," Athrun then asked as he kept up his barrage after reattaching the wing pack.

"Working on it," Shinn snapped in reply as he rushed in, beam saber ready. As the battle between the mobile suits went on, Thunderblast was easily dodging her Autobot opponents' fire, almost as though she were dancing around the blasts with ease, and the way she seemed to be mocking them was really starting to irritate Smokescreen.

"Just hold still you ditzy, party girl, bitch," Smokescreen shouted as he fired his blaster.

"Hey, who're you calling a ditzy bitch, brat," Thunderblast shouted in retort as she fired on him. Smokescreen was able to dodge most of her shots, but some were about to hit him. The young Autobot quickly reached for his phase shifter, but stopped when Sentinel jumped in front of him with his hand held out, silently telling him to wait, and his shield raised up in time to intercept the missiles.

"Smokescreen, don't use your phase shifter here," Sentinel warned him. "If you're not careful enough, a stray shot could end up going through you and hitting the complex or one of the ships."

"Yes sir," Smokescreen begrudgingly replied, and he then rolled out from behind his commander and opened fire with both of his blasters on Thunderblast. The Gaia had noticed Thunderblast's predicament, and was about to move to help her, when Heine and Athrun took advantage of its moment of distraction and fired on the machine with their own weapons. The suit was then thrown off balance long enough for Shinn to score a direct hit to the black mobile suit's chest, and send it crashing to the ground where it lay immobile with its cockpit torn open by Shinn's beam saber.

When Thunderblast saw this happen she immediately ceased her barrage against the three Autobots and began to run over as she shouted, "I'm coming, girl!"

"What did she say," Smokescreen asked as he paused in his own barrage for a minute out of shock. "Is the pilot of the Gaia a woman?"

"Focus kid," Springer shouted as he swooped overhead. The triple changer then fired on Thunderblast, throwing her off balance and then transformed to robot mode in mid-air as he armed his default sword. As he dropped from the sky, Springer threw his blade in a downward slash, striking Thunderblast dead center, and he quickly followed up with a kick as he back flipped and transformed into his car mode, racing away just in time for Sentinel to run up. The minute that Springer had raced aside, Sentinel spun his double bladed sword around and then struck Thunderblast with a pair of powerful slashes before he spun himself around and then rammed his blade forward, right into Thunderblast's chest.

Thunderblast's eyes widened in both shock and pain the minute the sword went through her and right into her spark, and she could only stare for a moment while gasping for breath when Sentinel said, "Party time is over, Eradicon."

Thunderblast grasped at the blade that was in her feebly for a moment until she finally gasped out, "W-worst…party…e-ever…"

With those final words, the light left Thunderblast's eyes and her body went limp. After waiting for another moment, as if he were confirming that she was actually offline, Sentinel kicked the female Eradicon off of his weapon, letting her fall to the ground with a loud thud, and then sheathed his sword. Springer was quick to drive up beside Smokescreen and smirk in victory as he assumed his bipedal mode, when he noticed the horrified look on the kid's face. "Hey, Smoke. You okay," Springer asked in concern.

"Yeah," Smokescreen responded hesitantly while his legs shook until he ended up falling into a sitting position. "I just…I just need a minute."

Springer looked at Smokescreen for another moment until he finally nodded in understanding, realizing what was really wrong with the kid. Effectively, this was Smokescreen's first real experience with death, and whether it be an enemy's or an ally's, no one's first experience with that was easy, as was evident by the fact that the horrified look had not left Smokescreen's face for a second. Everyone's attention was suddenly brought back to their current situation when they suddenly heard a thruster fire, and they all spun to see the Impulse taking off in the direction of the _Minerva_.

"What's going on? Where's Shinn going," Sentinel demanded.

"I'm not sure," Athrun replied as he and Heine began to fly after the combining Gundam. "But it appears that the enemy pilot was injured in the fight and now he's taking her back to the _Minerva_."

"What," all three Autobots shouted, and at the same moment, they also heard Talia and Arthur shout the same thing over the radio, clearly indicating that Athrun had already contacted them to inform them of the situation.

"We're heading after him now to see what the story is," Heine then added. "But we need to hurry in case something happens on the ship, and we can't just leave the Gaia or that Eradicon out here."

"Understood," Sentinel responded. "Captain Gladys, you head on back to your ship. I'll have Springer transport Thunderblast to the _Xanthium_ and leave Smokescreen to guard the Gaia until you can send someone to retrieve it."

_"Understood,"_ Talia replied, and they all immediately set out to do what they needed to in response to the situation that had now arisen, none of them quite knowing just what they would discover from this situation.

* * *

After Shinn had returned to the _Minerva_, he had made a break for the ship's sick bay, and all but demanded that the doctor help Stella. Sadly, the doctor was hesitant about treating the poor girl, despite her condition, and it led to Shinn getting into a heated argument with him that ended up leading him to say the wrong thing just as Stella was waking up, and throwing the girl into a sudden fit of hysteria. When Talia had arrived with Athrun, Heine, Eject, and a small squadron of soldiers for security reasons, they found Shinn trying to hold the agitated blonde girl back to keep her from injuring herself any further or anyone else, and it was not until Eject fired a low powered blast from a Null Ray he was carrying that she finally calmed down and fell unconscious long enough for Talia to allow the doctor to treat the girl before she turned to Shinn and asked the pilot to explain himself in her office, a conversation that was quickly joined by Sentinel via the holo-comm. link that had been set up between the two ships.

Naturally, the conversation started with Talia scolding Shinn for his actions, which Shinn took full responsibility for by only saying that he was sorry for what he did in response, but Sentinel was quick to remind the captain that Shinn's actions were only reflective of the fact that he saw someone he knew was injured and he reacted on his instinct to protect others as a result. When Sentinel pointed this out, Talia could only sigh in response to this, admitting that Sentinel was right in that, and then had Shinn explain how he knew Stella. Shinn was quick to explain that Stella was the girl he met on the cost of Diocuia and how at the time, he thought that she was simply a traumatized war victim. Any further conversation on the matter was brought to a halt when the doctor requested Talia's presence in sickbay, and she and Shinn immediately made their way there, with Sentinel's hologram appearing in the sickbay when they arrived so that he could hear the report as well. None of them were pleased with what the doctor had found though.

When they entered the room and found Stella strapped down to a table, Shinn's initial impression was that they were afraid she would suddenly attack them again when she woke up, but the doctor quickly assured the pilot that was not the reason. The reason for this was because they had discovered that Stella was in fact one of the Alliance's Extendeds. He then explained how he had subjected Stella to a few tests before treating her, only to find astonishing results, as the doctor discovered that there abnormally high levels of many natural chemicals, along with numerous substances that were not normally found in the human body, all leading them to suspect that this was all done artificially through the use of drugs, which all seemed consistent with what they had found in the laboratory.

During his explanation, Stella woke up for a moment, but unfortunately, when she saw Shinn, there was not a single sign of recognition in her eyes and she began to throw a fit once more. Shinn had tried to calm her down after a minute, but it was to no avail, and that was when the doctor grabbed an anesthetic while continuing his explanation. The doctor quickly informed the three that there were unusual patterns in her brainwaves as well, leading him to believe that her personality and memories were either manipulated or simply just erased, and upon hearing this, both Sentinel and Shinn were horrified.

To hear that someone had their memories altered in any way was beyond atrocious in both of their eyes, and to hear that someone had done so to Stella was something that they both considered to be unforgivable. The memories of any person were what truly helped to shape someone for better or worse, as it helped them to reflect on experiences and learn how to handle things better should they ever encounter a similar situation, and the fact that someone would tamper with that was something that both found truly unforgivable. It was so unbelievable to them that Shinn found he could not bear to stay in the room with the girl that would likely never remember him again and then immediately raced out while Sentinel simply swore that the ones behind this would pay for such an atrocity just before he cut off his communication.

When word finally spread around about this, everyone was either sympathetic towards the enemy pilot, or just simply found her to be even more horrifying than before because of it. Surprisingly, Lunamaria was among the former, and because of this, her jealousy towards Stella had diminished a great deal, but quickly began to bubble up again when she and Shinn both went to visit her, and Stella seemed to remember Shinn a little more easily after she awoke and saw his face. Of course, this was not the only problem that the female Z.A.F.T. pilot was facing, but rather, it was a problem in addition to the assignment that the captain had given her earlier, in which she was asked to spy on Athrun for the moment he made contact with anyone from the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_. Even though Talia had assured Lunamaria that the mission was not because Athrun's loyalty was in question, when the captain told Luna to forget what she had seen and heard on the mission, the girl found she could not do so.

Every time Lunamaria tried to shake the memories of what she had seen and heard during Athrun's meeting with the group from the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_, it always seemed to bubble to the surface of her mind, particular when the topic of the Lacus Clyne in the PLANTs being a fake while the real one and Optimus Prime were nearly killed by a squadron of Coordinators and Autobots came up. While Lunamaria had to admit that the Lacus she and the others had seen and met in Diocuia was nothing like the Lacus Clyne they had all come to know, she still could not help but have a hard time wrapping her head around the idea that the Lacus she and the others had met was actually a fake while the supposedly real one was nearly killed, and from what she heard, it almost sounded like Sentinel had wanted Optimus to be killed long before he had ever declared him a traitor. With that in mind, it only made sense that by declaring Optimus and his team as such, it made it easier for them to kill the _Omega II_ Autobots out in the open, but Lunamaria was not sure if she could really believe that so easily after all she and the others had been through alongside Sentinel Prime and his team.

The thing that really bothered Lunamaria though, was that knowing all this made her head spin like crazy and the gag order she had been given kept her from talking about it to anyone, which was something she felt that she really needed to do if she were ever to get her facts straight again. Lunamaria wanted to talk to someone about it so desperately, but she knew that aside from the fact that she could no longer bring it up due to the gag order she was given, there was also the fact that it did not seem like there was really anyone she could bring it up with. Obviously Athrun was out of the question since she would have to admit that she was spying on him, as was Rey given his personality, along with the _Xanthium_ Autobots since the topic did involve them, and there was no way she could talk to Yzak, Dearka, or Heine about this either given that she did not know them all that well, personally. Shinn was also out of the question for multiple reasons, but the main one being that he was already really worried about Stella, and even though Shinn's attentiveness towards the enemy pilot drove her up the wall with jealousy, Lunamaria did not want to add more to Shinn's plate, so naturally, Luna felt she was on her own with figuring out how to deal with the situation she was now in.

Lunamaria was not the only having difficulty figuring things out, as Shinn found he was having the same problem in relation to Stella. He knew that she was Gaia's pilot, but she was also the same girl he rescued that time in Diocuia as well, so naturally, even though she did not recognize him that well at first, Shinn found himself unsure about what to think, and that held true for a lot of matters that had recently happened, namely Sentinel declaring the Autobots of the _Omega II_ as traitors. He just could not believe that one of the ones who had saved him and his family's lives all those years ago could really be considered a traitor now, and that he essentially, would end up having to fight against him, and that was the last thing that Shinn wanted.

Shinn knew that it probably was not all that great an idea to talk to anyone on either of the two ships about it, but he still needed to talk to someone about everything that had happened. Fortunately for Shinn, unlike with Lunamaria, his prayers were answered when his cell phone suddenly rang. "Hello," Shinn asked as he answered the phone.

_"Hey big bro, its Mayu,"_ the younger Asuka sibling said.

Shinn's face immediately lit up with a smile when he heard his sister, but it quickly became somber once more as he replied, "Hey Mayu. This really isn't a good time right now."

_"Why? Did something happen,"_ Mayu asked, her immediately growing concern evident in her voice.

"Well, sort of," Shinn answered, and he then went on to tell Mayu about everything that had recently happened, or at least everything he could without breaking any rules or worrying his sister more than necessary.

When Mayu had heard Shinn's story, naturally she was shocked by what she had heard, especially in the case of the Sentinel declaring Team Optimus as traitors to the Autobots, and of course she went on a small rant about how the _Xanthium_'s captain was out of his mind doing that. After she had finished doing so, Mayu simply took a breath and told Shinn, _"Don't worry, big bro. I'm sure that everything will work out."_

"I don't know Mayu," Shinn admitted. "These days, I'm just not sure what to think anymore on anything. I mean, my biggest heroes and inspiration have been declared traitors to their own kind, a girl I thought was a traumatized war victim turned out to be an enemy pilot who had her body messed with by the Alliance, and…it's all just so…"

_"Shinn, relax,"_ Mayu cut in. _"You've never given up in anything before, especially when it came to what you believed in and what your goals were, and I know that you still believe in those first Autobots who came to Earth and saved us at Onogoro and all of the Earth. I know you'll find a way to figure out the real truth."_

Shinn sighed at this and smiled as he said, "Thanks Mayu. I needed that."

_"Anytime big brother,"_ Mayu assured him. _"I'll let you go so you can tune up your mobile suit or whatever it is you were doing before I called now. Hope to see you at home soon, and Mom and Dad say to try and call them some time just to let them know you're okay, so be sure to do that."_

"Alright, I will. Bye Mayu," Shinn then told his sister and he then hung up, feeling a bit better as he headed out to do a bit of maintenance on the Impulse before the ship got underway again, all the while feeling much more confident after hearing his sister's words.

* * *

Around the same time, things had become rather excited aboard both the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ since Kira, Cagalli, Elita, and Bumblebee returned from their meeting with Athrun. One reason for the recent excitement was Miriallia's return to the _Archangel_, and her reassuming her old seat at the CIC position on the bridge. Everyone was glad to have her back with them, being an original member of the _Archangel_ crew and all, and it just went to prove that having Miriallia back with them was a great morale booster for everyone. The only downside to this was that she would not say so much as one word on what happened between her and Dearka, but it did not stop anyone from bringing it up, especially in the case of Kira, Elita, Cagalli, Arcee, and Jazz.

Of course, there was also the information that they had received from Athrun, which explained everything that he, Yzak, and Dearka had learned from their time with Sentinel and the _Xanthium_ Autobots, and naturally the news of Sentinel declaring them as traitors further cemented the belief that the forces who attacked Lacus and the Autobots in Orb were working for Durandal and Sentinel. The data they had received also explained everything that the three Z.A.F.T. veterans had gathered in regards to the chairman and the Prime's plans regarding LOGOS, as well as how he believed that there were some among Sentinel's forces who did not entirely believe in what their leader said, and about the fact that Sentinel was working on a secret project involving multiple different forms of energon and the Forge of Solus Prime. After seeing all this, it seemed that while they had a few questions answered, they all felt like another hundred questions had risen up in their place, and as result, Lacus felt that they might find more answers if she were to return to space. Naturally, Kira was against this idea of hers, but the pink songstress insisted that if they truly wanted a clear understanding of things, then it might help if they had someone looking into them from in space, where they could also have an easier time remaining in touch with the contacts they had in the PLANTs. After much arguing between the two, and an assurance from both Waltfeld and Aisha that they would keep her safe, Kira finally agreed to let Lacus go through with this plan, and the three all made preparations to head for the _Eternal_, which was safely hidden away after the last war.

Originally, Lacus had wanted to take advantage of the fact the fake Lacus, who they now knew was really called Meer thanks to Athrun's Intel, was about to return to space herself, but that idea was immediately shot down when Ratchet reminded them of the fact they could just use the Ground Bridge to send them there. Of course, sending Lacus and her two escorts into space via the Ground Bridge was not without incident, as the _Omega II_ had to ascend to a certain altitude and be in a specific position for them to successfully send the three there, and the minute they began, they were quickly intercepted by Z.A.F.T. forces, since the position they needed to be in was in Z.A.F.T. territory. Thankfully, Kira had accompanied them in the Freedom, and he was able to disable the enemy mobile suits with ease, and ensure that the three made the journey safely.

This had actually taken place just yesterday, and at the moment, everyone was just doing their best to either keep busy to just simply pass time until they decided to move again, or was at their post doing their job. One such example of the former would be when Miriallia was on break and had decided to ask Kira about his new pilot suit, having clearly noticed it was not the same as his old one, and not just because it now wore the Orb Union's emblem on the sleeve and the Autobot emblem on the left side of his chest armor. Kira gladly explained that Ratchet and Wheeljack had designed new pilot suits and such for everyone on the ship, including Athrun and the others when they finally returned, and that they were made of a special kind of fiber that was extremely resistant to the point the suits were completely bullet proof and could even protect the pilot in case any form of shrapnel came close to stabbing them if their mobile suit was damaged to that point. To go into further specifics would either have caused Kira to bore Miriallia greatly, or just required Ratchet to explain everything in full, so he was sure to keep it as simple as he could while pointing out that she should ask said medical Autobot if she ever wanted more specific details.

Their need to fill their boredom was quickly alleviated when a message came through the terminal that shocked everyone. "The Orb Forces are gathering at Crete," Cagalli exclaimed when she heard the news.

"Which likely means they're after the _Minerva_ and _Xanthium_ again," Murrue added in.

"That does seem to be a likely possibility, even if we do not yet have confirmation," Optimus agreed from the _Omega II_'s communications station.

"Not to mention there's some other things to consider as well," Jazz added in. "They're plan seems to be riding on the hope the two ships are heading for Gibraltar."

"The Alliance and the Eradicons must be getting desperate then," Bumblebee suddenly said. "Because a plan like that is not very solid without any kind of solid, reliable Intel that would indicate that there's something close to an absolute guarantee that their enemy will actually show up."

At that point, Miriallia's terminal suddenly began setting off an alarm, and the newly returned CIC was quick to check it. "It's a coded message," Miriallia announced before she read the contents of said message. "The _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ are leaving the Sea of Marmora, heading south."

That news was all the confirmation they needed that the Orb Forces were going to engage the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ again at Crete, and naturally, everyone wanted to move out, but they all quickly remembered what Athrun had told them about, and they all quickly became more hesitant to head out knowing what would happen the minute they arrived on the scene. Everyone could feel their determination slipping at just the thought of Sentinel's declaration in regards to Team Optimus, which no doubt now held true for the _Archangel_ crew as well, or at least, everyone except one person. "Let's head out," Kira finally declared after a moment of silence.

"Kira, are you sure about that," Silverbolt asked.

"Yeah," Kira replied as he smiled at Cagalli. "Remember, that's what Lacus said. First decide, and then just do it. It's the only way to achieve anything of real value in this world, and that's why you need to go out there, Cagalli."

Cagalli stared at her brother for a minute before she finally nodded in agreement, her determination already rising up once more along with everyone else's. That same determination quickly began to show signs of not falling again when Optimus spoke up saying, "Kira is correct in what he says. Even if the world turns against us, we cannot allow it to fall any further into the holds of darkness than it already has. Others may lose faith in us, but we must never lose faith in ourselves and what we stand for, and if we are to truly continue to stand for what we have stood for, then we must go. Sentinel, Durandal, Lockdown, this LOGOS group, it does not matter who among these individuals we face. They must be stopped, no matter the cost."

Everyone instantly agreed with this, and they were quick to race to their stations before preparing the two ships for takeoff, and the minute they had arisen from the water, they were quickly on their way to the battlefield that they were sure to find at their destination, this time, certain they were ready for anything they may encounter.

* * *

When the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ were told to bring Stella to Gibraltar so that she could receive treatment at a specialized facility, both ships' captains were quick to point out that there was a likely chance that they would not be able to get her there, because the doctor had reported that Stella's condition was only getting worse by the day. Though they understood this, command insisted that it was all the more reason that they transport Stella to the facility where it was likely she could receive better treatment. Of course, some of Sentinel's Autobots were still a bit skeptical about this since the Z.A.F.T. ship's doctor himself admitted that Naturals were much more advanced with this sort of medical science than Coordinators were, but they were not about to argue with orders, especially if there was a chance to save that poor girl's life and give her something of a normal life afterwards, and so, as soon as everyone was ready to move, the two ships immediately set out for Gibraltar, hoping for a safe and steady journey.

Sadly those hopes were ill-placed as the ships were soon under attack, and they found themselves caught in a net placed by the Alliance Forces, the Eradicons, and the Orb Forces. The five Gundams were quick to deploy alongside their Autobot partners, with the two Zaku pilots and their partners deploying a minute later, and soon enough they were all caught up in battle against the enemy forces. Sadly, their efforts were not very fortuative, as the Orb Forces were quick to focus all their efforts on the two ships, and the Gundams and Autobots were quickly kept occupied by the Chaos, Abyss, and the Eradicons. Eventually, it became clear that they were completely surrounded and had no other options but to go straight through the forces in front of them, but even so, it did not help matters improve.

As he fired the Blast Silhouette's weapons at the enemy forces, shooting down Alliance mobile suits and disabling Orb suits as a result, Shinn's thoughts could not help but lead him to wonder if the _Omega II_ Autobots would show up and interfere in this battle with the Freedom and the _Archangel_ as they had before. He knew that it was probably not a good thing that he should hope that a group that Sentinel had pretty much ordered him and everyone else to consider the enemy would arrive, but he honestly felt that things would probably be better if they did. His moment of distraction though, caused him to completely miss a squadron of Murasames flying past him, and swiftly dodge both the Verde Buster's barrage and Drift's attempted interception until it was too late, and one Marasame managed to get right in front of the _Minerva_'s bridge with its beam rifle aimed right at said section of the ship.

Just when it seemed the lone Marasame was about to fire, a single beam blast destroyed its rifle, and caused it to back off just in time for everyone to witness the Freedom swooping onto the battlefield once again with the _Archangel_ and Strike Rouge directly behind him, but no sign of the _Omega II_ or any of its Autobot crew members. "Orb Forces, cease fighting and withdraw at once," Cagalli shouted as the battlefield came to a standstill once again.

"Here we go again," Yzak moaned as he slashed apart an Alliance mobile suit with his beam saber before he froze with everyone else.

"Orb should never fight in battles like this," Cagalli continued on. "You won't protect anything like this! Don't be a slave to the Earth Forces, and remember the ideals of Orb, because if you lose them, then what do you have to fight for? If you do continue like this though, then I am afraid that as the true Chief Representative of Orb, I will stop you by any means necessary."

"Oh just shut the scrap up already," Blitzwing suddenly shouted through his more violent personality, and he then suddenly fired on the Strike Rouge, shocking everyone on the battlefield, but thankfully, his blasts were intercepted by the Freedom. Blitzwing was about to move and attack the blue winged mobile suit, when he was suddenly hit by a missile barrage from the side.

When Blitzwing turned to see who had fired on him, he saw the Impulse charging in with its beam javelin at the ready, as its pilot shouted, "Don't you dare attack Lady Cagalli like that, bastard!"

As he continued his charge, Shinn once again went into SEED Burst mode unknowingly, and his movements and attack patterns suddenly sky rocketed enough for him to land numerous blows against Blitzwing, allowing him to snuff out the spark of the multiple personality Eradicon. Everyone who saw Shinn accomplish this task had a different reaction, but the most dominant ones were those of Kira and Sentinel. The former could only gaze in shock and slight amazement at the sight of the Impulse's fighting strength suddenly increasing the way it did, while the latter could only smirk in approval of the young pilot's actions and how they allowed them to mark another Eradicon off the list, and soon enough, the battle was raging on once again.

Almost immediately after he dealt with Blitzwing, Shinn was quick to toss his javelin at the Abyss's cockpit, destroying it as its last shot destroyed the Blast Silhouette, which Shinn had detached before it blew up. Upon seeing how the battle was beginning to escalate once more, Shinn immediately requested the Force Silhouette be sent out, and the minute his Gundam was re-equipped, he charged in once more with Sentinel right alongside him. While that was going on, Scattershot and Crosshairs were firing everything they had at the enemy units that were attacking both their partners and their ship, when a barrage suddenly caused Rey's Zaku to become damaged, gaining his attackers' the attention of Scattershot, as the Wrecker shot down all of the mobile suits that were making a run for the _Minerva_ once again, but it did little to stop Lunamaria from effectively becoming the only one fully capable of protecting her ship, even if Rey was still able to keep fighting.

Scattershot's moment of pause to fire on the mobile suits also caused both him and Crosshairs to miss Cyclonus, Astrotrain, Thrust, and Snowcat racing up to them, until the four had fired on them and prepared to fire on the _Xanthium_ while the two Wreckers were forced to stop and regain their bearings. "So long ya Autobot pests," Cyclonus cackled as he primed his arm cannons.

Just before the cackling lunatic and the others with him could fire, they too were suddenly attacked in the same way as the Marasame that had recently attempted to fire on the _Minerva_'s bridge was, and forced to back off as the Aerialbots swooped into action with a barrage. Before anyone could pause to wonder were the five Autobot flyers had come from, the _Omega II_ suddenly burst out from the water, and the rest of the golden ship's Autobots aside from Ratchet had raced out while Hound shouted, "You punks want a piece of us, well come on then!"

"Them again," Lockdown snarled as he swung his hook arm at Sentinel, who blocked it with his shield while glaring at the newly arrived ship. The Eradicon leader only made a minor note of how Sentinel had ordered all of his forces save for Blaster's usual Mini-Cons and Tracks to deploy to the field at once as he slashed with his hook once again and then moved to engage the Freedom, thinking that taking out one of the other Autobot team's allies would throw them off balance.

Sadly, this did not go unnoticed by Kira or by one particular Autobot, as Lockdown was immediately intercepted by the Battle Axe of Optimus Prime. As soon as Optimus had forced Lockdown back, he opened fire to put some more distance between them before raising his axe once again to block an attack from Sentinel. "You never learn do you Orion Pax," Sentinel snarled.

"I have learned more than enough to know who the true traitor to the Autobots is," Optimus retorted as he pushed Sentinel back. Soon enough, a second three-way battle of leaders was underway, which was soon followed by similar such battles between all Transformers, and upon seeing this, Sting thought that he could finally sink the _Minerva_ with his Chaos Gundam while all the others were distracted, but unfortunately, that was proven wrong the minute he was shot down by a combined effort of the Savior and the Blu Duel.

As he and Heine prepared to move to their next targets, Yzak could not help but notice how some of the _Xanthium_ Autobots were not engaging the ones of the _Omega II_ as quickly as others, but rather instead were simply putting a majority of their focus on either defending the two ships or fighting the Eradicons. Two such examples of this were Smokescreen and Defensor, as the former was doing everything he could to stay in the fight while avoiding any chances of fighting fellow Autobots at the same time, while the latter was focusing solely on Menasor and did not wish to engage his other fellow combiner because of the results that had occurred in the previous battle when there was a three way battle between three combiner teams. One final example of this was immediately brought into the fight when Scattershot noticed how he was fighting.

Upon seeing this, the _Xanthium_ Wrecker leader immediately shouted, "Crosshairs, stop wasting ammo on those little fools, and fire on those traitors now!"

"But I have to," Crosshairs started to say as he glanced over in Lunamaria's direction, just as the girl scattered a Marasame squadron that had slipped past the Strike Rouge, who's pilot had proven true to her word as she immediately engaged the Orb Forces the minute they did not heed her words.

"I don't give a frag what you think," Scattershot shouted. "Our orders are to either apprehend or destroy Orion Pax and his fellow rebels, and while we are also Guardians for the little humans, that doesn't mean we have to protect them from every little thing, only the most serious threats. Now open fire on them!"

Crosshairs looked to Lunamaria's red Zaku Warrior for another minute, sparing a glance at Rey's Zaku Phantom as he did, and then simply lowered his head and nodded before he whipped out his second pistol and fired on Bulkhead, who had started to go toe-to-toe with Crumplezone just before Crosshairs had attacked them both. The two combatants were quick to dodge the paratrooper's shots, but they were not so fortunate to completely evade his follow-up attacks. Seeing how effective this was, Scattershot smirked for a minute while he thought to himself _Now if only Drift would take orders from someone other than Sentinel so easily_. Sadly, he was quickly stirred from his thoughts when an explosion from the _Minerva_ rocked both the ship, and the two of them from the resulting blast wave.

Once the two were able to recover enough, they looked to see that one of the Marasames had pulled a kamikaze move against the _Minerva_, and though she had tried her best to stop the Orb machine, Lunamaria was not able to do anything at all when she was suddenly bombarded by an ice beam from Snowcat, which was followed up with a blast from Sideways. The end results of this were Luna's Zaku being seriously damaged, and the girl herself sustaining serious injury. "You know, for guys who're supposed to be guardians for these humans, you Autobots sure aren't doing a great job," Snowcat yodeled, mockingly.

That turned out to be the thing that pushed Crosshairs over the edge, and the Wrecker immediately raced towards the two Eradicons as he shouted, "Damn you both to the Pits!" The minute Crosshairs had finished his curse, he leaped off the _Xanthium_ in the direction of Snowcat and Sideways, and then waited until the last second before deploying his parachutes and opening fire on the two with everything he had.

"Yodel-yodel…uh-oh," was all Snowcat could say before both he and Sideways were hit by the entirety of the barrage, leaving barely enough of Sideways for him to escape back to his ship and nothing of Snowcat besides his severed arm. Seeing his work was done, Crosshairs released his parachutes and dropped back down onto the _Xanthium_ to resume his previous duties. While the battle continued to rage on around him though, Crosshairs could only hope that what happened just now was the last of the tragedies to take place at least in this battle.

* * *

Shinn had just taken out another group of Eradicon drones and Alliance mobile suits while disabling some Murasames and Astrays, when he heard the explosion from his ship. "_Minerva_, are you alright," Shinn immediately shouted.

_"We're fine, but Rey's Zaku has been damaged, and…"_ Meyrin replied, hesitating before she brought up her sister. _"Lunamaria's been hurt."_

Shinn immediately froze for a minute when he heard what the younger Hawke sibling had said, and then narrowed his eyes in anger before he demanded, "Send out the Sword Silhouette. I'm taking out the enemy battleships."

_"Roger,"_ Meyrin replied, and not a minute later, the Impulse had re-equipped and changed colors once again, and then headed after the Orb ships, making sure to warn the crew members to evacuate just as he landed atop each vessel and sliced them apart.

Shinn was not the only one who had heard about what had happened to Lunamaria and Rey, and the moment that Heine and Yzak had heard, they too were quick to unleash hell upon any enemy that crossed their path. One such enemy would have been the Freedom, had Athrun not charged in ahead of the Savior and engaged Kira himself at the last moment. "Kira, stop this," Athrun shouted. "I told you guys to go back to Orb, and yet you go and pull this again!"

"Athrun," Kira tried to say, but Athrun was not going to listen.

"No! Just stay out of this, Kira," Athrun shouted, signaling Kira on what he needed him to do as he did. "All your interfering does is bring chaos to the battlefield, and having the _Omega II_ Autobots here is only makes things even worse!"

Kira was quick to catch on to Athrun's hidden message, and immediately replied, "I understand that Athrun, but right now, it doesn't matter, because at this moment, even if they don't show it, Cagalli and Optimus are both crying their hearts out. Cagalli is crying because all of this is exactly what she feared, and Optimus because he is now being forced to fight yet another friend who seems to have fallen into darkness along with 'Bots that he has fought alongside of at one point or another. If anyone were to say that all these sacrifices, that this and any other battles that force Autobots to fight against one and other in an Autobot Civil War, is the fault of Orb, Cagalli, Optimus, and his team, then they would be attacking the very things that Cagalli is trying to save, and the very things that Optimus has always stood for! If that is the case for you, Athrun, then you leave me no choice. I must defeat you!"

"Then by all means Kira, show me just how strong those beliefs really are," Athrun shouted in reply, and the two brother Gundams charged each other as both pilots entered SEED Burst at the same moment. What followed was not a battle between mobile suits, but a duel between best friends, between brothers, the likes of which that none had seen since the two ace pilots fought against each other in the previous war, but this time around, it was clear that the Freedom seemed to have the upper hand, as it quickly outmaneuvered and outmatched the Justice at nearly every turn. Even when Athrun separated the wing pack of his machine in an attempt to confuse his opponent, Kira was quick to counterattack by using the Freedom's railguns to destroy the pack.

Finally, the battle came to a head when the Freedom landed a powerful blow against the Justice with one of its beam sabers, severing both one of the red mobile suit's legs and its arm. The shock from the blow had thrown Athrun off balance for a minute, and that was minute that Kira quickly took advantage of by pulling out the Freedom's second beam saber in a reverse grip, and knocking the Justice out of the air completely, destroying the mobile suit in the process. "Sorry Athrun," Kira whispered to his friend before he turned the Freedom to help his sister.

As he sat in his destroyed mobile suit's cockpit, managing to shut down the Energon Reactor Core before it was too late, Athrun somehow knew what Kira had said, and simply smiled as he whispered, "Don't be, Kira. It was what was necessary."

* * *

At first, Yuna had been excited when it seemed that they were going to finally sink the _Xanthium_ and the _Minerva_, cackling like a madman and insisting that they were doing the right thing in the same manner, but when Todaka ordered his ship to move forward, he was immediately thrown for a loop. Todaka simply insisted that he was simply getting the job done, and the ship proceeded forward. Eventually though, the _Minerva_ had opened fire on the ship, and they were quickly beginning to sink. "Hey Todaka, what the hell do you think you're doing?! We're sinking," Yuna demanded as he grabbed the Orb captain by the collar of his shirt.

"Lord Yuna, please abandon ship," Todaka simply said in reply before he turned to his crew and ordered them to do the same. "I will try to carry out your order to destroy the _Minerva_ to the very end. I will take the blame for the ships and soldiers that we've lost. With this act, Orb's bravery will be unquestioned, and the whole world will know what we did here!" Todaka then broke Yuna's grip on him when he saw that his words had the desired impact, and then threw the foolish man against the door, before he ordered his men, "Escort the commander in chief to safety. All of you are to abandon ship as well. That's an order, not for Yuna Roma, but to protect our nation!"

Todaka's men hesitated for a minute before they all saluted their captain and began to carry out what they all understood to be his last orders, save for Amagi. "I'll remain behind with you, sir," Amagi told his commanding officer.

"No."

"I must insist."

"I said no," Todaka snapped at his second in command as the other soldiers and Yuna left the room. "I'll take full responsibility for this. You're in charge from now on."

"Sir, no," Amagi tried to argue, hoping to convince his commander to come with them as their ship continued on with its collision course for the _Minerva_.

"If you're so eager to lay down your life, then gather together those who feel the same and go to the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_," Todaka then told Amagi as he placed a hand on his loyal second in command's shoulder. "One day, I know they will find the right path for everyone, and they will succeed in saving our world from itself and the dangers it doesn't realize that it's facing. Please Amagi, do this for me and for all those who gave their lives pointlessly today."

Amagi hesitated for another minute until finally he nodded, showing that he would grant that last request, and immediately headed for the lifeboats so he could join the rest of his comrades in abandoning the _Takemikazuchi_. As they were all abandoning ship, Cagalli had seen what the ship was doing and immediately had the Strike Rouge race over, begging whoever was left on the ship to stop what they were doing. Just when she was nearly at the ship though, she had to pull back to avoid a beam blast that would have likely only grazed her, and she then looked to see that the Impulse was the one who had fired on her.

"Lady Cagalli, please stay back," Shinn requested, much to Cagalli's surprise. "This is their choice, and how they have decided to make up for the wrongs they feel that they've committed. I'll try to save as many of them as I can, so all I ask is that you don't strengthen their burden by letting them see your tears. Please go."

Cagalli hesitated for a minute, allowing those very tears to fall without hesitation now, but in the end she could do nothing more than nod and acknowledge Shinn's request and turned away both so she could return to the _Archangel_ before it began its retreat from the battlefield along with the rest of its allies, and so that she would not have to see any more of the horrible loss that was unfolding.

When Shinn saw that the Strike Rouge was clear, he turned his attention towards the cockpit, thinking that the ship was now completely abandoned, but before he struck with his Gundam's swords, he saw someone was still on the bridge and hesitated. "You need to get out of there! You won't survive otherwise," Shinn tried to call out to the captain of the ship.

"As you told Lady Cagalli, this is my choice son," Todaka replied when he heard Shinn's pleas. "So just stop hesitating and make it quick."

Shinn froze once more when he recognized the voice of the man who had helped him and his family to safety after Bulkhead had saved their lives, and he could then do nothing more than cry out in agony and weep as he slashed through the ship's cockpit. The Impulse then flew away as its pilot continued to shed tears of sorrow at what he just had to do, and the members of the Orb Forces, the Alliance Forces, the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_, Kira, Cagalli, and Athrun all saluted both the ship and its captain for the sacrifice that he had made for the future of the world. The Battle of Crete was now effectively at an end.

* * *

When he heard of the results of what happened at Crete, Djibril was furious to say the least. Not only had they effectively been defeated, but the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_ had shown up again to cause trouble, which was why he made sure to make it clear to Neo Roanoke that the next time he encountered those ships, the captain was to destroy it. It did not help matters that they had also lost Auel along with a few of the Eradicons as well, but he would admit that after what the Orb ship had done, the world would have a general idea of how far they would go to destroy the enemy. At that moment, Djibril felt that he could not take much more bad news, especially given the fact he had to stomach Lockdown's presence via holo-communication as he read over the report, and thankfully, he was about to receive some form of good news.

_"Lord Djibril,"_ a scientist by the name of Joshua Joyce called out over his computer.

"What is it, and for your sake Joyce, it had better be good news," Djibril warned the man.

_"It is, sir,"_ Joyce assured Djibril. _"We're nearing completion on _Project: Nemesis_."_

Now that was definitely good news in Djibril's eyes. He threw a smile to the head of said project as he said, "Excellent. That's effectively the first bit of good news I have heard all day. How soon can we deploy?"

_"Actually, it may be a little while longer,"_ Joyce replied. _"We are having a minor setback in reference to the main project."_

"What kind of setback?"

_"See for yourself, sir."_ A minute after Joyce said that, the image of the man's face was replaced by an image of what could only be a massive Transformer with dark purple and black armor, with a set of wings on its back that were folded up in a downward v-shape, and a head that had a set of three horns on top while its optics were darkened, and mounted on its right arm was a large cannon.

"What the hell is this," Djibril demanded. "I specifically said that the first unit from _Project: Nemesis_ was to be designed in the exact image of Optimus Prime, so why the hell does that thing look like Megatron?!"

Djibril was correct, as the machine did bear a striking resemblance to the Decepticon leader, but the main difference was the color of the armor and the fact that it had an extra bit of muscle mass to its body than Megatron did, and the cannon was more sleek in its design than said warlord's Fusion Cannon. _"We're not entirely sure what the problem is sir,"_ Joyce reported. _"We've been rendering, scrapping, and re-rendering the unit constantly, but no matter what we tell the computer, it always seems to come out similar to, if not exactly, as the image you are looking at. We tried to see if there was something we missed when we were analyzing the corpse of Megatron, but from what we can tell, there's nothing left to find."_

"Well clearly you're missing something," Djibril retorted. "So go back, check the computers for bugs, and the corpse for anything that might even slightly indicate what the problem is, and…"

_"Sir, that's just it. When I said that there's nothing left to find, I meant literally,"_ Joyce suddenly interrupted. _"When we checked it out just recently, all the results we had received showed no signs of the body ever even functioning at all. It's almost as though the thing is just an empty shell."_

That was slightly confusing, but Djibril just waved it off and then ordered that they leave the first machine as it is when it was finally completed, and then attempt to build the second one in the way he wanted them to. After Joyce gave confirmation of the orders and signed off, Lockdown's hologram looked to Djibril and simply said, _"That does not seem like a good omen."_

"I don't care what you think," Djibril retorted. "_Project: Nemesis_ will be the key to ending this, alongside the Destroy if necessary. I take it you are proceeding with the measures you said you would take if it came to the point we would need the Destroy?"

_"They have already been completed,"_ Lockdown assured Djibril. _"Not even one Autobot will be expecting what is to come when the first Destroy is deployed."_

"Excellent," Djibril smirked. "That will be all for now then, Lockdown."

_"Before I sign off though, I must ask,"_ Lockdown suddenly said. _"Exactly how did you acquire the source of power you intend to use for powering the units of _Project: Nemesis_? The Energon of Earth alone is difficult for humans to come by given how protective the Autobots are of it, but the fact that you acquired even a small amount of Dark Energon is certainly fascinating."_

Djibril remained silent for only a few seconds until he finally replied, "To be honest, it was actually quite a strange and fortunate coincidence. We were scouting out a place for a new lab when we stumbled upon it. You may find this hard to believe, but it actually seemed to be coming out of volcano as it neared its eruption."

* * *

**_AN: Well there you have it. Some Eradicons are dead, there was the whole thing with Todaka, which while different from the original version in some ways is still pretty much the same admittedly, Cagalli showing how serious she is about stopping Orb by saying that they need to either back off or fight against her, and, hey look at this! References to Transformers: Age of Extinction__ and some hints at what is to come later on down the line! For those of you who caught those references to said movie, good for you, for those of you who didn't, go back and watch the movie again and then re-read this chapter. It should make sense to you then._**

**_As for me killing off the Eradicons, well as much as I hate killing off characters, as I have said before in the past, I must admit that I had always intended for most, and I do mean MOST, of the Eradicons to be killed off by the end of this story. Some of them will survive to return for the final story, but don't go expecting your favorite ones to survive if you have any. With this chapter, we are getting closer and closer to the end of the first half of this story, at which point the focus of heroes will be officially shifting, but don't worry, I'll be sure to make it clear when we get to that point._**

**_Finally, who was able to catch the little meaning behind dark energon erupting from within the Earth means? Huh, come on show of hands...oh wait, never mind. Well if you did catch it then good for you, but please don't mention it in a review and give away any possible spoilers for everyone who doesn't know. Now then, onto the preview!..._**

**_Stella's condition continues to deteriorate, which causes Shinn to take actions that may lead to the end of his career in Z.A.F.T., and to more problems in the near future. The results that follow are all but devastating, as a great terror rears its ugly head alongside a legendary warrior that has every Autobot worried for the battle to come when they face him. What sort of terror is it that has even Optimus and Sentinel worried about what the battle will bring, and what will end up being the fate of Shinn? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 14: Massive Terror****_. Impulse, be ready to brave the evil that is to come!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	14. Massive Terror

_**AN: Hey, how's it going guys? Yes, it is me, lyokoMARVELanime, back with another chapter of Destiny Sentinels! Now after the last chapter, I'm sure you guys are expecting something really heart pounding, and action packed with this one. Well, all I have to say to that is...Sorry, but that ain't happening this time. There's a bit that in a flashback sequence, but beyond that. Nothing really major.**_

_**?: Now that is just messed up, ya know!**_

_**AN: What the...?! How'd you get in here, ya knucklehead ninja?!**_

_**?: I am NOT a knucklehead ninja! Why does everyone say that?!**_

_**AN: Oi. For those of you who can't figure it out yet, ladies and gentlemen, Naruto Uzumaki, who I was planning to not show up in any of my fanfictions for a very long time!**_

_**Naruto: Why not? I'm awesome!**_

_**AN: And in case you haven't noticed, you already have like a million stories on this site alone, and that's just with solo stories, never mind the crossovers! Which was why I am determined to avoid doing any, and I mean ANY, Naruto stories for as long as possible, thank you very much!**_

_**Naruto: WHAT?! WHY? What've you got against me?!**_

_**AN: Honestly, nothing. I'm a huge fan of Naruto, I mean who isn't these days? But seriously dude, have you seen the numbers when it comes to fanfictions for you? To be honest, after seeing how many Naruto fanfictions there are myself, I just feel like doing a Naruto story of any kind would just be too easy, since there have already been so many made now. I'm not saying that I won't do Naruto stories at all, but I would like to avoid doing so for as long as possible, meaning after I feel like I've exhausted all other ideas. For now, I'm sticking with things like Transformers, Gundam, SAO, Yu-Gi-Oh!, MARVEL, Code Lyoko, MegaMan, Last Airbender, Legend of Korra...you get the idea.**_

_**Naruto: Hmph. Well can you at least let me Rasengan the guy who gives away spoilers all the time?**_

_**AN: Um...No one's even attempted to do that yet this chapter. Why would I let you needlessly waste chakra like that?**_

_**Shinn: Yeah, I mean, it's not like anyone's said anything about how Bumblebee and Grimlock...**_

_**AN: DAH! SPOILER! Okay, you can get him, Naruto. But nothing more powerful than a basic Rasengan!**_

_**Naruto: No problem, believe it! [forms Rasengan and throws it at Shinn]**_

_**Shinn: [Screaming as he flies off like Team Rocket from Pokemon] YOU'D THINK I'D HAVE LEARNED BY NOW!**_

_**AN: Well, I guess that take care of that.**_

_**Durandal: Hey! I need to have a word with you, regarding how in the next chapter you plan to have me...**_

_**AN: DAH! ANOTHER SPOILER! NARUTO!**_

_**Naruto: RASENGAN BARRAGE!**_

_**Durandal: Oh come on! [Gets blasted away in the same way as Shinn]**_

_**AN: Okay, so, before anything else happens, let's roll out!**_

_**I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 14: Massive Terror**

In the aftermath of the Battle of Crete, the _Minerva_'s hull and weapons had suffered rather serious damages along with the _Xanthium_'s hull, shields, and main guns, but the worst of the damage that the two ships had suffered came from the mobile suits and the Autobots. Lunamaria's Warrior was damaged beyond repair, as was Rey's Phantom, and no one had been able to find anything of the Justice aside from the cockpit that Athrun was trapped in, it was almost like the rest of the suit had simply vanished. The only machines that had not suffered any damage were the remaining four Gundams, and out of them, only the Impulse was still able to deploy since the Verde Buster and Blu Duel had both lost some of their weapons and all three of the remaining Gundams had suffered some damage that would require a return to port before they could be repaired. As for the Autobots, the ones that had come out the least damaged were either on the bridge during the battle and did not sustain any damage or had only some minor scrapes and dents such as the Protectobots. Crosshairs and Drift had each suffered some heavy hits from their battles against some of the heavier hitters of the Eradicons or from scrapping with the _Omega II_ team even for a minute, while everyone else had been given a recommendation of remaining aboard ship and out of battles until further notice by both Red Alert and Kup. The only _Xanthium_ 'Bots who had not suffered any damage were Sentinel, Chromia, Mirage, Scattershot, Kup, and Smokescreen, who had his phase shifter active for most of the battle.

To be honest, Shinn was actually really surprised by how hard each of the Autobots had gotten hit, since he always figured that the Autobots were nearly indestructible, given how often he had known them to take on overwhelming odds and almost always come out with barely anything more than a scratch on their armor. Seeing the state of the Autobots who had suffered such serious injury had really been quite the wakeup call for the young pilot, but at the moment, he felt he had more important things to worry about. The minute Shinn had returned to the ship, he had raced right to the infirmary where he saw Lunamaria unconscious with bandages on her forehead and an arm in a cast. After that, Shinn had never left the room until Lunamaria had woken up and smiled at him for his level of caring, and that smile brightened a bit more when she found out he had not left her side once since he had arrived in the room.

Sadly, that smile had quickly vanished for two reasons. The first reason was due to the fact that everyone had started teasing the two of them and saying how they were such a sweet couple, but it was really the second reason that really mattered, because the moment she had woken up, Lunamaria had noticed the heart monitor and life support system that Stella was hooked up to, and it did not take a genius to figure out that the readings showed that the girl was not getting any better. When Lunamaria asked Shinn if he thought she would be okay, Shinn glanced at Stella out of the corner of his eye for a minute before turning his gaze back to Lunamaria before he simply whispered that he honestly did not know.

That was actually just yesterday, and now the two had left the infirmary after Lunamaria had received clearance to leave and were heading to meet their friends. As they went, Lunamaria had to ask, "Are you sure you're okay, Shinn?"

"I'm the one who should be asking you that," Shinn remarked. "You're the one who got shot down and…you know…"

Lunamaria just smile a bit before she pointed out, "But you're the one who had to finish up most of the battle, practically by yourself, and against of fleet from your homeland, all while fighting against Eradicons. You can't honestly expect me to believe that you're really doing alright."

Shinn looked at Lunamaria for a minute before he just sighed and said, "You know me too well, Luna. In all honesty, I'm really not doing that well at all. I've had to fight against Orb twice now, and not only that, but I had killed someone from Orb. I know he asked me to do it, and I understand that he felt it was for the right reasons, but it still bugs me, to put it mildly. Not only that, but my friends got shot down or injured, and sure they're all okay and still alive, but I feel lousy for not being able to help them. Not to mention you got hurt and I couldn't…"

Lunamaria looked at Shinn when he suddenly stopped and saw that he had started sporting a small blush from whatever he was about to say, and that was enough to get her face to turn red as well. Looking to change the subject and alleviate the tension, Lunamaria quickly asked, "So, how's Athrun doing? Was he hurt or anything?"

"No, he wasn't," Shinn replied with a small sigh of relief, even though his face was still a bit red. "But no one has seen him since he disappeared into his quarters after the battle. Well, I guess Yzak and Dearka might have, but no one else has, not that I can blame him. I mean, he got shot down by his best friend, the guy he fought alongside of at the end of the last war, and I'd be pretty depressed to if either you and Rey had done the same thing to me in a similar situation."

Lunamaria just nodded in understanding at that, showing Shinn that she would have felt the same way about that, and was about to comment further, when they both heard the sound of the captain's and Sentinel's voices speaking with the doctor. Before Lunamaria could say anything, Shinn slapped his hand over her mouth and backed them both up against the wall, getting Lunamaria to blush once again for a minute at how close they were to each other. That blush immediately vanished when she heard what the three were talking about. "So it's only a matter of time now," Sentinel had asked, and they could tell by the static in his voice that he was using the holo-communicator.

"I'm afraid so," the doctor confirmed. "And there's no way we can reverse it. I'd like nothing more than to hand the girl over while she's still alive, but if that's not possible, then I'd recommend against keeping her on life support any longer. When we autopsy her, it'll be difficult to obtain accurate data."

Lunamaria and Shinn could not believe what they were hearing, and both silently gasped the minute they realized that the three were talking about Stella, and from the sound of things, the fact that the girl would not live was not bothering any of the three at all. "We already have more than enough tissue samples and body parts from that research lab," they then heard Captain Gladys say. "What the council really wants to acquire is an example of a living Extended. Please continue her present course of treatment. If at all possible we should hand her over alive."

The two pilots barely registered the doctor assuring the two captains that he would do everything he could to do as Talia had asked or even Talia and Sentinel's thanks in reply, as they were still hung up on how their commanding officer had just so blatantly disregarded the blonde girl's health in favor of getting her to another lab to be treated as a lab rat by Z.A.F.T. scientists. It was like they had gotten punched in the gut by a role model, and what they heard next did not help matters. "Oh, about Shinn," Talia had asked. "Does he still come and see her?"

"To be honest, he had actually been coming to see Lunamaria more often than the girl, but he still stops for a minute or two every now and then," the doctor informed them.

"I honestly do not understand what he sees in the girl," Sentinel told the two. "I am not saying that I consider her to be no better than some machine, but she is a living weapon and nothing more. If this continues though, it could cause problems."

Talia had remained silent for a minute before she finally voiced an agreement with Sentinel's beliefs. Once they heard Sentinel's communicator deactivate and the other two leave, Shinn brought his hand off of Lunamaria's mouth and the girl exclaimed, "How could they do this? How could they act like she's just some animal that needs to be studied or thrown aside like garbage?! It's just so…" She then looked at Shinn and asked, "Isn't there something that can be done?"

Shinn did not answer for a moment before he finally looked at Lunamaria with determination in his eyes that she normally only saw when he was about to launch in the Impulse, and told her, "Luna, we need to go find either Athrun or Heine right now."

"What? Why," Lunamaria asked in confusion.

"Because I think I might have an idea, and we'll probably need Athrun or Heine's help to do it," Shinn told her as he grabbed her good hand and led her off down the hall.

"But Heine is busy with helping with the management of repairs to the ships along with Yzak, and no one has seen Athrun since the battle," Lunamaria reminded Shinn.

"I think I have an idea on where Athrun might be," Shinn then revealed to Lunamaria with a smile, and at that point, Lunamaria just shrugged her shoulders and followed Shinn onward, noticing that even after she started following him willingly he did not let go of her hand, and getting a small blush at the realization. Of course, she did not say anything to him about it.

* * *

It turned out that Shinn's hunch was that Athrun was out on the upper deck since it was now sunset and Shinn remembered that Athrun had told him he would come up there sometimes to clear his head, and that hunch proved to be true when he and Lunamaria found both Athrun and Heine standing up there, obviously talking about something, and from the look on Heine's face, it seemed that something Athrun had said had given his fellow FAITH operative something to think about. When the two noticed Shinn and Lunamaria had joined them, Heine immediately shook himself out of his moment of thought and asked, "What're you two doing up here? I thought you were still being confined to the infirmary, Luna."

"I was just released today," Lunamaria explained.

"And there's something we need to talk to you both about," Shinn immediately added, getting the attention of both FAITH soldiers. A short while later, Shinn and Lunamaria had told the two what they had overheard Talia and Sentinel talking about with the _Minerva_'s doctor, and both FAITH operatives were just as upset about the news as the younger pilots were, but that was not nearly as shocking as the information on what Shinn intended to do in response to this. It turned out that Shinn wanted to take Stella back to the Alliance forces since they knew for a fact that Stella could be treated and saved by them, and he figured that if he got the authorization of at least one member of FAITH he would not get into trouble for it.

Sadly, it did not seem to go as smoothly as Shinn was hoping it would. "Shinn, I understand where you're coming from," Athrun assured the young pilot. "I mean, to be honest, I'm having a bit of déjà vu since Kira did something similar when he brought Lacus to me during some of the later stages of the last war, but in this case, what you're suggesting is a bad idea."

"How is this any different from that situation," Shinn demanded as lightly as he could.

"For one thing, Lacus was just a civilian and this girl is an enemy pilot," Athrun pointed out. "Lacus wasn't ever likely to be fighting against Kira or anyone else for that matter, but if you take Stella back to the Alliance and the Eradicons, then there's a chance that you will be forced to fight her again. Even if whoever you hand her over to gives you their word that it won't happen, it will happen."

"You don't know that," Shinn argued.

"Shinn, she's one of the Alliance's Extendeds," Heine reminded him. "Even if it's not a one hundred percent guarantee, it is still a very high guarantee that we'll be fighting her again as an enemy."

"But she's going to die if we don't do this," Shinn reminded them.

Athrun and Heine were both silent at this point, silently admitting that Shinn was right in that regard, but Heine knew that he had to point out one other flaw in Shinn's plan. "I understand where you're coming from Shinn, and if it were up to me, I'd be flying out there with you to help," Heine assured his fellow pilot. "But unfortunately, the council and the chairman have both requested that the girl be brought to them alive, and there's nothing even Athrun and I can do about it. Even FAITH operatives have limitations on what they can get away with. I'm sorry, but our hands are tied on this matter."

Shinn stared at the older man for a minute before he looked to Athrun who could only give a sad nod in confirmation of this before he said, "We'll try to make sure no one knows that this conversation ever took place so that you guys don't get in trouble, but that's really all we can do. Believe me Shinn, like Heine, I wish I could fly out with you and take her back, but I can't for obvious reasons along with the same reasons as Heine had pointed out. I'm sorry."

Shinn just looked down in sadness and shock, not believing that he was just told that there was nothing he could do to save Stella. He had already failed to save Lunamaria when she was shot down in the last battle, along with a number of other people, so was he really going to fail in saving Stella too? Not able to take the idea of this for much longer, Shinn just turned away and ran off, letting a few tears fall as he did. Lunamaria was about to follow after him, when Heine placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Let him go. He needs time to himself right now."

Lunamaria wanted to argue with the commander, but found that she could not, and just nodded in understanding and agreement of this. She then turned back to where Shinn had disappeared to, hoping that her friend could work through this, and praying that he would not do something stupid in the process.

* * *

It turned out that Lunamaria's prayers were in vain, and Shinn ended up doing something stupid after all, depending on who you asked that is. That night, Shinn had decided that he would take Stella back to the Alliance on his own, with or without permission, and that was exactly what he did after he knocked out the doctor who was watching over Stella, and sneaking her into the hangar. Shortly after that point, Rey had suddenly showed up and helped Shinn get some guards off his back before making Shinn promise him that he would come back. After Rey had opened the door and let Shinn out, he was immediately placed in the brig after telling Captain Gladys and Sentinel of Shinn's promise.

A few hours after that, Shinn had handed Stella over to Neo Roanoke and returned to the ship just like he had promised, but only after the masked man had promised Shinn that he would save Stella and take her away from anything involving mobile suits or battles, not that Shinn believed him for a minute, after all, as the old saying goes, one should never trust a masked man. Having completed his goals, Shinn returned to the _Minerva_, allowed himself to be arrested on the spot, and after telling the captain and Sentinel that he had overheard them earlier, he was escorted to the brig in a cell right next to Rey's. Naturally, Shinn had taken the moment to apologize to Rey for getting him involved, but Rey just waved it off saying that as long as Shinn had done what he had intended to do, then that was all that mattered.

Shinn had smiled after hearing Rey say what he did, when both of their attention was brought to the door when Athrun walked in and stopped before Shinn's cell door. "Shinn, I'm sorry about what happened," Athrun immediately said.

"It's no big deal," Shinn assured Athrun half-heartedly. "I was just doing what I thought was right in order to save Stella."

"I know that Shinn," Athrun replied. "But now we run the chance of facing her as an enemy on the battlefield again. Do you think you can do that?"

Shinn stood up and then told his senior, "I know there's a chance of that happening, but that guy gave me his word that he would take Stella away from all of this!"

"And you actually believed him," Athrun demanded. "Someone you had only just met, who works for the people who did this to her?"

Shinn shut up at that point, telling Athrun that Shinn did not believe him but felt he had no other choice, leading the FAITH operative to sigh before he finally smiled at Shinn and said, "To be honest, I'm actually kind of glad you did that, because it shows that you're determined to follow through on your promise to protect others no matter what. If you ask me, I'm sure that Bulkhead would've done the same thing."

Shinn looked at Athrun in shock for a minute, and then smiled at being compared to his hero like that when Rey suddenly spoke up saying, "Of course he would have. After all, traitors don't do anything according to anyone's rules, and he is a follower of…"

"Rey," Athrun snapped, and the blonde man looked to see Athrun throwing him an intense, almost hateful glare at what he had said.

"Sorry, I guess I forgot for a moment who I was talking about," Rey apologized after a minute.

Athrun just sighed, not quite believing Rey, before he turned back to Shinn and said, "Seriously Shinn, in your position, I doubt that Bulkhead, myself, or any of Team Optimus would've done it any differently."

Shinn smiled and then told Athrun, "Well, that first time I met him, Bulkhead did say that I would make one hell of a Wrecker."

"You know, I actually have to agree with that sentiment. You already act a lot like a Wrecker, and usually follow their motto pretty well." At Shinn's look of confusion, Athrun clarified, "Wreckers don't call for backup. They call for clean up."

Shinn then had to laugh along with Athrun for a minute after that, and with all that had needed to be said having been said, Athrun departed and headed back to his quarters, assuring Shinn that he would not be in the brig for much longer. When Shinn had asked how Athrun could be so sure of that, all Athrun told him in reply was that he just had a really good hunch, which was just a cover up way to say that he had a feeling Durandal was not going to let two of his ace pilots face up to what they had been charged with. As he was going back to his quarters, Athrun could have sworn he heard something from behind him, but when he turned around to see what it was, he found nothing there. Athrun just shrugged his shoulders at that, and went into his room, only to be met with the holographic image of Tracks inside.

"What's this about, Tracks," Athrun asked, immediately going on guard for a minute in case there was a chance he had been made.

Tracks's hologram seemed to be looking over his shoulder for a minute as he gestured for Athrun to be quiet before he finally whispered, "I'm sorry about the intrusion, but I had to speak with you at a time when I was sure you wouldn't be overheard."

Athrun relaxed his guard for a minute, as he cautiously asked, "Why's that?"

"I need your help to get in touch with Optimus Prime and his allies," Tracks replied.

Athrun was quick to note how Tracks had referred to Optimus as a Prime instead of his old name like most of Sentinel's team did these days, but in case this were some kind of elaborate trick, Athrun quickly asked, "Even if I knew how to do that, why should I help you?"

Tracks bowed his head in shame before he revealed, "I know I don't have the right to ask this, and after all that's happened I now know for a fact that I've unknowingly been a part of something that is much bigger and darker than anything I ever realized, and while that is something that may be unforgivable, all the same, I now want to make up for the wrongs I have helped to commit against my kind, even if it was unknowingly. Athrun, I think I might know the truth about Sentinel's plans, or at least part of it, and just how far deep this conspiracy goes, but I can't just reveal it over any channel without exposing myself or Optimus and his team. That's why I'm asking if you can help me somehow."

Athrun had analyzed Tracks's body language and facial expressions the whole time he had spoken, and he saw that everything that Tracks had said was true, so after glancing around and making sure that there was no possible way for him to be heard or seen without someone else being in the room, Athrun replied in a whisper, "I can give you a specific set of communication codes that you can use to contact the _Omega II_, but you'll need to make it count, because after the first time you use them, they'll be useless. Just make sure I don't regret it."

Tracks nodded, and accepted the codes that Athrun had quickly sent him, before giving the young pilot his thanks and allowing his hologram to fade away into the darkness, leaving Athrun alone in his room once again with much to think on, including the hopes of doing the right thing in trusting Tracks.

* * *

During this time, Neo Roanoke had brought a now fully recovered Stella and Sting to the _Bonaparte_ so that they could receive the new machine, the Destroy. In all honesty, Neo had wanted to be able to keep his promise to the young Z.A.F.T. pilot he had met, but in order to do so would have been to go against his orders, and those orders involved bringing Stella in to pilot it. "This is my machine," Stella asked when Neo had told her.

"That's right," Neo confirmed, much to Sting's ire. The reason for this was because after the apparent loss of Stella and the confirmed loss of Auel, all of Sting's memories of the two were wiped from his mind, so naturally he just thought that Stella was some strange, messed up girl that he had never seen before. "You have to use it to fight again, Stella, or the scary things will come and they'll kill us all," Neo continued to explain.

"They'll kill us, and kill me too?! Even you," Stella cried out in fear.

"That's right," Neo confirmed. The reaction was instant, as Stella immediately cried out her usual call of not wanting to die, which Neo immediately replied to saying, "Then I'm afraid you'll have to fight. I know you can do this Stella. It's the only way we can get rid of all the scary things."

"Get rid of…the scary things," Stella muttered for a minute, and she then gained a look of determination as she nodded in understanding, showing that she was ready to do as she was asked to.

As he moved to his own machine along with Sting, the young pilot told Neo, "What's the deal with not letting me pilot that machine? I'm a better candidate than some mixed up girl just out of sickbay!"

"No, she's the best match," Neo argued, getting an incredulous look in response from Sting. "According to the data, Stella can operate it…more effectively."

Sting was about to argue further when Lockdown appeared before them and asked, "Are you really going to continue arguing with your superior, boy?" Sting just snarled in response and then stormed off to his machine as Lockdown brought his attention to the masked man before him. "Let's hope this operation goes better for you than your attempts to sink the _Minerva_ and the_Xanthium_."

"You should talk," Neo reminded the Eradicon leader. "As I recall, you told us you're team was supposed to be some top-notch force that could handle the Autobots and any other alien like you guys, and yet you've failed to sink the _Xanthium_ with or without our help."

Lockdown just waved his good hand at the captain as he replied, "Just a series of small setbacks and mishaps. This time, there will be no chance of anyone standing victorious but us."

Neo nodded as he glanced at the Eradicons' ship and then just walked off to his custom Windam as he said, "Just make sure your guys do their jobs."

Lockdown let out a small snarl at the human's nerve before he turned to the other Eradicons and began giving out orders. "Astrotrain, you are to hang back and stay out of the fight. If anything goes wrong, you will be our best chance of escape," Lockdown ordered the triple changer.

"You've got it," Astrotrain replied begrudgingly.

"Stinger, you'll be leading our first line of defense against any attacker that may approach after the Stunticons," Lockdown then added.

"What," Thrust shouted. "But sir, I am a far better candidate for leading forces than Stinger."

"Silence Thrust," Lockdown shouted. "Unlike you, Stinger has actually been able to complete some of his assignments, so I would not be talking about the quality of command capabilities, Squid Head."

"Squid Head? Even you Master Lockdown," Thrust moaned. When he heard Cyclonus laughing at his expense, Thrust immediately shouted, "Stop laughing you fool! Don't you all realize that if this operation fails, all Eradicon operations will be in great peril, and our own efforts here will suffer just as extensively?"

"Which is why the plans we've put in motion will ensure our success, hence our brothers' excitement at the ultimate success of this mission," Lockdown then informed Thrust. "I'm actually a little giddy myself, Squid Head."

"My name is Thrust! T-H-R-U-S-T, Thrust! Is that really so hard to remember?"

"What's that? You don't like my little Earth joke," Lockdown asked in an all-too-innocent tone. His tone then became dangerous as he said, "Buck up soldier, or you'll find yourself among the slave labor of one of our other conquests."

"Y-yes sir," Thrust replied fearfully, grumbling on the inside as he did. The moment the Eradicons had moved out, they were all either racing alongside of their ship or moving to stand on its upper deck near the entrances. The minute they were in the closest, Russian town, the Destroy and the ship immediately opened fire on both the Z.A.F.T. forces that were sent out to intercept them and the population, as their mission was what Djibril had described to Neo as an operation to "cut off the diseased limbs", and he felt that the destroy and whatever the Eradicons were doing with their ship was the best way to do that.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Autobot-_Archangel_ team was just leaving the Kingdom of Scandinavia, after deciding to move to a new hiding place, especially since they had added such a large addition to their group. Amagi had done as Todaka had asked him to and gathered up the members of the Orb Forces who shared his feelings before journeying to the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_ in order to join them. Everyone was a bit skeptical of the new arrivals at first, but Amagi assured them that they did not come to seek revenge or to make up for past mistakes, but because they wished to fight for the true ideals of Orb and the true Autobot heroes. After hearing this, Kira and Optimus were both more than happy to accept their newest allies' help, and were quick to welcome Amagi and his forces to their team, an act which Amagi and the Orb soldiers all thanked the two for by giving them both a salute in such. While Optimus was used to this kind of thing, it had actually thrown Kira off guard, since he did not expect it, nor was he used to it, despite being an Orb Admiral in rank.

Just as they were leaving though, something started to come in over the two ships' information network, and the moment it was brought up, they all saw the horror that had unfolded out in Central Eurasia when the image of the _Tidal Wave_ and the Destroy in the flaming ruins of a recently destroyed city appeared before their eyes. "By Primus, they're insane," Wing Saber muttered.

"I think that's putting it mildly, Wing," Air Raid said, as everyone wondered what Z.A.F.T.'s reaction to this was.

* * *

Athrun's "hunch" that Durandal would have the charges against Shinn and Rey overlooked turned out to be correct, as that was exactly what happened, though it was said that it was due to the recent accomplishments and such that were made note of in the twos records. In fact, Shinn and Rey had just arrived in the lounge to meet with Athrun and Lunamaria to show that they were alright, when the news of what was happening in Central Eurasia reached them, and the same image that the _Archangel_-Autobots were looking at came up on their own monitor. "What the hell is this," Yzak exclaimed in seething anger.

"They've gone too far this time," Dearka added a minute later as he slammed his fist into his palm, and soon enough, several agreements were being voiced by everyone else as well. They were all eager to get out there and show the ones who did this exactly what happened to people who committed such terrible acts, but none of them realized that they had only just witnessed the beginning of an even greater terror.

* * *

Lockdown smirked in victory as the Destroy and his ship moved on to their third target, and he decided that now was the time to reveal his ship's true power. "This is Lockdown. It's time my brother," Lockdown radioed to someone. "Show them your true might that has long remained dormant for so many cycles."

The minute Lockdown had finished saying that, the Eradicon vessel began slowly shifting, altering its structure, until a pair of massive, dark colored legs had hit the ground beneath it, and the front had split into a pair of massive arms that seemed to be able to crush anything in their grasp and smash apart anything they were swung at. A moment after this, a large head extended upward from what had become a large torso with multiple weapons mounted on the chest and a pair of cannons then extended out from the tops of both shoulders as its optics glowed with a terrifying yellow light. A minute later, the massive beast that towered just slightly over the Destroy took a small step forward, and crushed a platoon of Z.A.F.T. mobile suits and carriers beneath his foot as it growled out, "Tidal Wave awakens!"

* * *

"No, it can't be," Wheeljack gasped in shock at the sight that had just appeared on the _Omega II_'s monitor.

"What's wrong Wheeljack," Amagi asked the Wrecker, and upon glancing at the other Autobots the _Archangel_ crew and pilots could see, they saw that all of the Autobots had gained a look of terror at the sight before them.

"That's Tidal Wave," Jetfire gasped in shock.

"Yeah, we know that," Cagalli reminded the Aerialbot. "Lockdown's ship is called the _Tidal Wave_, and it's been a problem ever since it showed up."

"No Cagalli, this is different," Arcee quickly informed the girl with a great deal of fear in her voice. "Lockdown's ship isn't called _Tidal Wave_. It _is_ Tidal Wave."

"What do you mean," Miriallia asked, voicing the confusion of everyone on the _Archangel_.

"Tidal Wave was the most dangerous of all the Decepticons in the war for Cybertron," Ratchet explained to those who did not know. "His size is only matched by beings such as Omega Supreme or Trypticon, and his power is that of the most heavily armed battleship, in Cybertronian terms."

"Don't remind me," Bulkhead moaned in remembrance. "That guy tore apart multiple Autobot cities back in the war, and most 'Bots were lucky to get so much as even a scratch on him and live to tell about it, assuming they lived at all."

* * *

"You're saying that all this time, Lockdown's ship was actually a majorly dangerous Decepticon," Shinn asked in fear when Sentinel's team informed the _Minerva_ crew of the same thing Optimus's team was telling the _Archangel_ crew the minute they had found out.

"It would seem so," Crosshairs confirmed grimly. "I still remember the first time I saw him. I was under some deep cover at a sniping position when Tidal Wave arrived on the scene so I was lucky to have survived the onslaught that had followed, but the rest of my unit, not so much."

"Then there was that time when the Wreckers took him on," Scattershot added. "It took nearly the entire unit just to slow him down long enough for the medical base he was sent to attack to be able to fully evacuate."

"Yes, I remember that quite well," Sentinel said. "It was one of the last missions I led just before the Eradicons had become a real threat and before I had taken command of the _Xanthium_."

"What exactly had happened," Athrun asked, hoping that they could figure out how to help handle this thing with any information they could get.

Sentinel looked to Athrun before he began the story, not knowing that Optimus was telling the same tale at that very moment since he was there too at the time. "Megatron's forces had sent out a threat against one of our best medical bases that was close to Decepticon territory, saying that it was a violation of their borders and solid proof that we were denying them their idea of freedom," Sentinel explained. "Knowing that we could not afford to lose such fine medical experts and the soldiers we were treating, Zeta Prime and I led a team to help with the evacuations along with Orion Pax while the Wreckers took on a daring mission to attempt to slow down the forces that were coming. Never once expecting Tidal Wave to be the one to come until it was too late…"

* * *

_There was naturally panic when the people in the city near the Autobot medical base had heard of Megatron's warning, and of the evacuation order that had followed, but it had quickly calmed down just enough when Zeta and Sentinel Prime arrived on the scene with Orion Pax, who had just recently been reformatted into Commander Optimus some cycles ago after a very brutal struggle in a previous battle with the Decepticons, and assisted the teams that had already tried to begin evacuations in smoothing things out so that the evacuation could continue more easily. After doing so, Optimus had joined Ironhide, Jazz, and the Wreckers in holding back the Decepticon forces that had already arrived, Energon Battle Axe swinging in a somewhat amateurish fashion, when the ground started to rumble beneath their pedes, causing the fighting to come to a halt just in time for a massive shadow to overshadow the battlefield. The minute they noticed the shadow, the Autobots had all looked towards the source, only for the previous state of panic to return tenfold when the sight of Tidal Wave assuming his robot mode crashed down before them._

_"Lord Megatron," Thrust called out from his position. "I am proud to announce that the mighty Tidal Wave has arrived, and your victory is now most certainly assured."_

_"I will only believe that when it happens, Thrust," Megatron snarled to his tactical officer from where he stood over the battlefield in Decepticon territory. "So let's see if he is as capable in this endeavor as he has been said to have been in the stories."_

_The soon-to-be Eradicon merely smirked behind his battle mask in anticipation and excitement as he gave the order for Tidal Wave to begin his attack, and the minute the massive Decepticon warrior had turned his turrets towards them, Zeta Prime had immediately shouted, "Prepare for battle, Autobots!"_

_The response to this order was every Autobot taking cover somewhere as Tidal Wave rained down a storm of weapons fire on the Autobots, right to the point where even those who were struggling to continue the evacuations could barely do anything more than try to keep the shields surrounding the base and the escape route activated. During their sprint for cover, Optimus and Sentinel had ended up alongside Zeta behind the same makeshift shield, and the newly reformatted Autobot immediately told the two Primes, "We cannot complete the evacuations like this. We must find some way to at least disable Tidal Wave for even a moment!"_

_"I agree Optimus, but if you have an idea as to how then I'm more than open to suggestions," Sentinel shouted over the explosions that sounded around them as Zeta futility fired on the large monster before them. "In case you hadn't noticed, that is Tidal Wave out there! No 'Bot has ever survived an onslaught from him without sustaining serious injury that either pulled them from duty for weeks, or disabled them for the rest of their life cycle!"_

_"That does not mean we can simply give up," Optimus argued. "And there is one Autobot who may stand a chance."_

_"You can't seriously be suggesting that we send him to fight Tidal Wave," Sentinel gasped the minute he realized who the former librarian was talking about. "Even if you ignore the fact that we'd be asking him to leave his life-cycle-long post, there's still the chance that he would get torn apart."_

_"No, Optimus is right," Zeta then exclaimed as he ceased firing and ducked down next to them. "And we may have a chance if we give the big guy some extra help. Sentinel, have all of our nearest, available Combiner teams form up and try to keep Tidal Wave's attention. Optimus, you lead a team to keep the other 'Cons off of them and the team we'll be sending in to disable Tidal Wave."_

_"Who are we sending in exactly," Optimus asked as Sentinel made the call to the combiners._

_"The Wreckers," Zeta simply said. Optimus nodded in agreement with this, and immediately radioed Ironhide and the rest of his own team of their newest assignment while Zeta Prime himself contacted both the Wreckers and their best and only hope of stopping Tidal Wave._

* * *

_When Hound had been informed of the plan Zeta and his fellow Prime had come up with along with Optimus, he was admittedly both worried and afraid, but considering that the current leader of the Wreckers these days was actually Optimus's childhood friend who trusted him completely, he had no doubt that the crazy plan could work, especially since the blue, red, and silver 'Bot agreed with said plan. After accepting this, Hound just holstered the gun he was cleaning and reloading before he looked at said 'Bot and saying, "Ready to roll whenever you are, Magnus."_

_Commander Ultra Magnus nodded to the older Wrecker and readied both of his blasters as he cried out, "Then let us proceed with our leaders' plan as quickly as possible. We target only the most important systems on Tidal Wave, and leave the minute we receive their signal to evacuate!"_

_Upon hearing this command, most of the Wreckers roared in excitement, while some, like Wheeljack, just gave half-hearted cheers since they felt that Ultra Magnus was too up-tight to be leading a group like the Wreckers and causing them to go soft. Still, they could not argue with the results Ultra Magnus helped the Wreckers bring in, even if he was a model soldier who stuck to the rule book a little too strictly, which was why they all eagerly followed him into the belly of the beast that was Tidal Wave, and commenced with a sabotage operation on the massive warrior from the inside. The minute they had charged out into the field, they were initially attacked by Megatron's forces, but thanks to Optimus and his team providing covering fire for both them and the combiners, who were being led by Superion, they were able to make it inside of Tidal Wave and were quick to commence destroying anything they could inside of Tidal Wave that could be deemed important._

_They were just about to move to another target, when Zeta Prime's call to pull out came through, and Ultra Magnus immediately transformed to his alt mode and led the team out as fast as their wheels and thrusters could take them. The minute they were outside, they found that they were just in time to witness the arrival of a large, gold and red ship, which transformed into a massive titan with a set of wings on his back, a large cannon where his right hand would have been, and a head that was covered by a red tinted face plate. The minute this large Autobot warrior landed, it immediately charged toward Tidal Wave as he bellowed, "Omega Supreme: Activated and ready. Mission: Eliminate or drive back Decepticons. Primary target: Tidal Wave."_

_The minute Omega had said all of this, he fired on Tidal Wave and a battle of titans was quick to follow as the other Autobots could do nothing more than finish up with assisting in evacuations and keeping any Decepticons from posing a threat to their own massive warrior._

* * *

"So you're saying that in the end, you needed your own massive warrior to stop this Tidal Wave," Lunamaria asked as Sentinel finished the story.

"Essentially, yes," Sentinel replied. "After that battle though, I had long since thought that we had seen the last of Tidal Wave after that."

"Why? What happened to him," Dearka asked. "Did Omega Supreme finish him off for good?"

"HA! You wish, but not as much as we do," Scattershot immediately retorted. "Sometime after that battle, they say that something had happened to the oversized lug head and he just simply vanished from the Decepticon ranks, almost like he was never really there to begin with. Of course, all of his victims could tell you that he was there for a fact. There were rumors floating around about what had happened to him for stellar cycles, but none were ever confirmed."

"Until now, it seems," Yzak corrected as he jerked a thumb in the direction of the monitor that was still showing a live feed of Tidal Wave destroying cities alongside the massive Alliance machine.

Sentinel could only glare in pure rage at the image of the massive monster he had lost so many good Autobots to, before he finally said, "Whatever the case may be, we must intercept and eliminate this threat before anymore damage is done."

"Sentinel," Athrun suddenly called out, getting the Prime's attention. "Aside from you, only five of your Autobots are even able to deploy into the field. I'm sure the rest would be of great help on the _Xanthium_, but this won't be anything like that time on Cybertron you just told us about. Not to mention there's also the fact that out of all our machines, the Impulse is the only one that's fully ready for action."

"Athrun's right," Heine added in. "I'm not saying that the Savior, Verde Buster, and Blu Duel can't deploy at all, but they definitely wouldn't be as effective as they normally are given their current states."

"I am aware of that," Sentinel assured the two. "But we can't afford to wait for anything if we are going to stop them."

"I agree," Talia immediately said. "Right now, speed is a crucial factor here, so we can't afford to wait for anything." She then turned to her crew and pilots and ordered, "All hands, we're going to Condition Status: Yellow. Report to your stations and standby! We're leaving for the current location of Tidal Wave and the massive mobile armor at maximum thrust at once, and will be going to Condition: Red the moment we're in the area!"

"Yes ma'am," the Z.A.F.T. soldiers immediately saluted before they raced out of the room to their positions.

Sentinel then ordered his own team to carry out similar actions aboard the _Xanthium_ as he cut the communication, and as he was heading to the bridge, Chromia stopped him and whispered, "You do know what will happen by the time this is over, right? No matter how this ends, it will be enough cause for Durandal to begin his play against LOGOS."

"I agree, First Commander," Sentinel informed Chromia. "And when the good chairman does begin that move, I will be sure to be there so that we may begin our own endgame, and ensure that he either understands his place with us or suffers the consequences."

Chromia then glanced around before she asked, "What about those two ships? The _Omega II_ and the one the humans call the _Archangel_? There's a chance that they will be there as well, trying to stop Tidal Wave."

"Then for once, our goals will be the same," Sentinel told Chromia. When the femme was about to protest, Sentinel simply waved her off, saying, "In order to achieve the greater good, sometimes compromises must be made. I have no doubt that Orion Pax will wish to stop Tidal Wave for some reasons that we share, so we shall simply allow them to do as they please this time."

Chromia's face soured a bit before she finally nodded in defeated understanding and moved to check her weapons, since she would obviously be going out with Sentinel and the team he would be deploying with, while Evac assumed command of their ship. As she went, Chromia could already tell that their next encounter with the _Omega II_ Autobots and their allies would be one that very few of Team Sentinel would be likely to enjoy.

* * *

After Optimus had finished telling everyone the story of the battle that had taken place against Tidal Wave back on Cybertron, which ultimately led to a showdown between said Decepticon and Omega Supreme, the room was quiet for multiple different reasons. For one, the idea of there being an Autobot of that size was something that every human considered extremely incredible, but the more important reason was that they all had what was as close to a full understanding of one of the monsters in Central Eurasia as they were likely to get at that time. Naturally, everyone was shaken to the core, but they all began to gather their courage when Kira suddenly announced, "I'm going, Optimus and Miss Murrue."

Both commanders nodded in agreement with Kira, and the crews of both ships were quick to race to their stations and prepare for battle as the two ships changed course. Among these preparations, was the moment when Optimus armed himself with the Star Saber once again, feeling that this was a battle that he would be needing the mighty weapon of Prima for, but just as he was heading back to the bridge, Optimus found himself stopped by a very serious looking Bumblebee. "Is something wrong, Bumblebee," Optimus asked.

Bumblebee hesitated for a moment before he finally requested, "Optimus, I know this is probably asking a bit much, but if Stinger is out there when we arrive, I'd like to face him alone."

Optimus looked at his loyal, ever faithful scout for a minute before he finally said, "I understand that you have a great history with the Eradicon, Stinger, old friend, but I cannot allow a need for vengeance to take precedence over the mission."

"This isn't revenge, Optimus," Bumblebee immediately argued. "This is…this is something that has been coming a long time. I've known that this would happen eventually, and I know Stinger better than any other 'Bot out there, even if they're with the _Xanthium_. Stinger was like a brother to me, Optimus, and his betrayal…I know you can at least understand that, because, I honestly can't help but feel that this is similar to what happened with you and…well…"

Optimus nodded in reassurance, knowing that Bumblebee was referring to him and Megatron, and then placed his hand on the scout's shoulder as he stated, "I understand, my friend. I will allow you to engage Stinger alone, if he is there, and shall inform the others to do so as well. When Sentinel and his forces arrive, if they attempt to interfere, we will also do whatever we can to ensure they let you handle him yourself as well."

Bumblebee gave a sad, yet grateful smile to his commander and father figure before he finally said, "Thank you Optimus."

Optimus nodded in response, and the two then walked off, knowing that the battle that was to come, would be the most brutal battle of the Transformers that Earth had seen yet, and that it would be nothing short of a miracle if everyone survived.

* * *

**_AN: Okay, so while Naruto is both keeping certain blabber mouths (*cough* Shinn and Durandal *cough*) from, well, blabbing, and keeping Deadpool out of here, cause I'm sure he's gonna do something at some point again in any of these stories, especially if you've seen the chaos he brings to Code: Avengers, I'm going to answer a few reviews before I wrap this chapter up and let you all get on back to your daily lives until my next update. Kira, if you would?...Kira?...Oh right. Getting ready for the fight with Tidal Wave. Well, who's available._**

**_Luna: I've got this._**

**_AN: Eh, okay. So, who's first?_**

**_Luna: How about this one from, "Guest"? The one that asks about the Dinobots and Hot Rod._**

**_AN: Right. Well not to worry, the chapter of the Dinobots' big debut on Earth is just a few chapters away now, and in the chapter after the next one, it will be just around the corner. As for Hot Rod, I'm sorry, but I am NOT bringing him into this timeline as Hot Rod or as Rodimus Prime. Honestly, if I ever do Rodmius for this series, it will likely be in the final epilogue of the series, and if it is not there, then it will be like the version from Transformers Energon, and not that wus from G1. Don't get me wrong, G1 was good, after all, you can't beat the classics, but I honestly felt that Rodimus Prime of that series could've been a bit better as a character after he became, well, Rodimus._**

**_Luna: Okay, next up is a review from "Ice Wolf Fang"_**

**_AN: Right. Well, I don't want to give away too much more about the final story, but in terms of how many years will have passed, it will actually be somewhere between 1.5 to 2 years approximately since this story's end and the third story's beginning, and no, it will not have everyone's kids being the focus, for obvious reasons. To be honest, by the time the third story begins, so much will have happened that I'm considering throwing in an additional story just to explain how some things in the third story had come to be by that point, but I'm only CONSIDERING it._**

**_Luna: And finally, one from "SpartanPrime101"._**

**_AN: Ah yes. I remember that one. It was actually posted a short time after his review of Gundam SEED Prime. Thanks for that by the way, glad you liked both the first story, and this one so far. In answer to your question, your idea is good, and I actually had something in mind that was similar to that, but it will actually not happen in the final battle for a few reasons, which you will find out in the chapters that are still to come._**

**_Luna: Well, I have something I need to say. What the hell was with all that?!_**

**_AN: Hm? Oh you mean the whole thing with the Eradicon ship really being Tidal Wave the whole time? Yeah, that idea actually came to me from the Transformers video game that was based on the Armada series and simply titled "Transformers". You may or may not remember it, it was third person shooter in which you played as either Hot Shot, Red Alert, or Optimus Prime and battle against the Decepticons while searching Earth for the long-lost Mini-Cons. Anyways, I remembered how in that game, when you get to the Tidal Wave level, you're actually able to go inside of the massive Decepticon, so when I read about how there was a ship by the same name as him in the novel "Transformers: Exiles", I figured, what the hey, let's make the big guy into the Eradicons' ship! Be honest with me now, how many of you did NOT see that coming though? Well, with that said, I doubt I really need to give a preview to tell you guys what will happen next chapter, but you're getting one all the same, so, Onto the preview!..._**

**_The battle against the massive titans begins, and what follows is not an entirely happy ending. As Bumblebee and Stinger clash in a battle to settle things once and for all, the two Team Primes bury the hatchet for the moment to work together for this one battle along with their respective human allies in an attempt to stop both Tidal Wave and the Destroy Gundam, only for tragedy to strike at the hearts of one member of one team. What happens as a result of this battle, and what is it that Chairman Durandal finds himself learning about his Autobot ally, Sentinel, in the end? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 15: Giants and Titans****_. Impulse, Freedom, Sentinel, and Optimus, strike hard against these massive foes, before it is too late to save the pilot of one!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	15. Giants and Titans

_**AN: [holding a magnifying glass while looking at something unseen to everyone else] Hm, very interesting. Very interesting indeed.**_

_**Kira: Uh, lyokoMARVEL, what're you doing?**_

_**AN: Hm? Oh, are we starting now?**_

_**Kira: Uh, yeah kind of. Seriously, what's with the trench coat and hat? You trying to look like some kind of detective or something?**_

_**AN: You'll see soon enough Kira. That is assuming the pattern of our suspect remains the same as they have been. Ah who am I kidding, of course they will be.**_

_**Kira: Ooookay.**_

_**AN: Well, enough of that. It's showtime! Hey, welcome back everyone, and let me just say right now, whoo-wee. This was a long one, and one heck of a chapter to right. So many things happening, so many emotions flying, all leading up to a major upset that will leave many of you saying, I should've seen this coming.**_

_**Shinn: Sheesh, why don't you just say that in the end Sentinel will have revealed that...**_

_**AN: SHINN! I need you to help me out with something real quick.**_

_**Shinn: Uh, isn't this usually the part where you say "DAH! SPOILER!", hit a control, and cause me to end up being the victim of some weird cartoon joke or horrible pain?**_

_**AN: No, no, no, forget that for now. This is really important.**_

_**Shinn: [shrugs] Okay. What do I need to do?**_

_**AN: Just stand right over here.**_

_**Shinn: On this big "X" on the floor?**_

_**AN: Yep.**_

_**Shinn: Okay, now what?**_

_**AN: [smirks evilly] Go Go Gadget, oil slick. [raises arm when a tube shoots out of sleeve]**_

_**Shinn: Go go what? DAH! [gets sprayed by blue toothpaste] THAT'S NOT OIL, THAT'S TOOTHPASTE!**_

_**AN: I know.**_

_**Shinn: Okay, haha, very funny. I'm going to go clean up now. [slips and falls] Uh a little help? [struggles to stay standing]**_

_**AN: Sure thing. Go Go Gadget Bubblegum [large machine pops out of the top of hat and starts pumping said gum]**_

_**Shinn: Wait, what? [Gets sprayed with bubblegum] Okay, now I'm slippery and sticky. Are we done?**_

_**AN: Oh, we've barely even started. Go Go...**_

_**Shinn: Noooo.**_

_**AN: Gadget...**_

_**Shinn: No, no, no.**_

_**AN: Hammer. [Large hammer comes out of hat, and lines up to slam Shinn]**_

_**Shinn: Nononononononono-DAAAAAAAAAAH! [Gets hit by hammer hard, and is sent flying back and forth because of bubblegum]**_

_**Kira: Um, what's...**_

_**AN: I've kinda had the Inspector Gadget theme song stuck in my head lately, and this just came to mind. Haha, classic. Now let's get rolling!**_

_**I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 15: Giants and Titans**

The city of Berlin was in a state of panic, as Z.A.F.T. Forces did all they could in attempts to slow down the Destroy and Tidal Wave while the civilians tried to evacuate the city, but sadly, their attempts all seemed like those of desperate people, as the two massive beings destroyed anything thrown at them like they were nothing more than annoying flies. As he watched this, Neo could not help but feel a bit ashamed of what he had been asked to do, needlessly killing so many innocent people just for having even the smallest friendly relationship with Z.A.F.T., and watching the massive genocide before him was not making him feel any better in the matter. Unfortunately for him, not only did he have no other choice since he was ordered to do this, but he was also the only one who actually felt this way among all of his comrades, especially in the case of the Eradicons.

"Ah just look them run," Lockdown laughed, mockingly. "Don't you just love watching them struggle effortlessly, like they can make a difference, Squid Head?"

"I wish he would stop calling me that. How would he like it if I started calling him Captain Hook," Thrust muttered to himself before he started chuckling at his attempt at a humorous insult.

Of course, since he was so close to him at the moment, Lockdown did not miss Thrust's bit of quiet giggling. "Perhaps you would like to share your little joke with the rest of us," Lockdown snapped at his tactical specialist.

"No, I wasn't laughing, sir," Thrust quickly assured Lockdown. He then turned away and started giggling again as he quietly added, "Captain Hook. Hehehehe, I am good!"

Lockdown only stared at Thrust for a moment before he simply said, "You are a freak." His attention was then snapped back to the operation when both he and Neo suddenly received a warning signal, and a pair of blasts suddenly came out of the clouds right towards both the Destroy and Tidal Wave. The former was able to raise a positron shield to block the first blast, while Tidal Wave simply let the second one bounce of his chest without sustaining any harm at all.

"What the," Stella started to say, but she was soon interrupted when the Freedom and Wing Saber blasted onto the scene, with the other four Aerialbots close behind, and Optimus Prime racing onto the scene with Arcee, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Bulkhead racing in a mere few seconds later in vehicle mode. A minute later, the five Aerialbots had combined into Superion, and the remaining Autobots assumed robot mode and opened fire on the two titans before them, just as the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_ arrived on the scene as well.

"Them again," Neo moaned as he pushed his custom Windam forward into the battle, with Sting and some of the Eradicons close behind, including Lockdown and Stinger. When Bumblebee saw the red 'Con that he once called brother, he immediately notified the others of this discovery and then raced off to intercept the one who had betrayed him so greatly, leaving his teammates to deal with Tidal Wave and the others.

"It doesn't matter what you throw at me," Stella shouted as she activated a control in her cockpit, and the results of this caused all of the _Archangel_-Autobots to pause at the sight that had unfolded before them. The minute Stella had activated the control she had just engaged, the Destroy began to alter its form until it stood up straight with a large, circular backpack mounted on its back, a pair of arms with cannons on each, a large chest that had three cannons as well, and a head unit that was far too familiar for anyone's liking.

"By the AllSpark," Elita One exclaimed from her place on the bridge of the _Omega II_.

"It's a," Murrue began when she saw the sight before her.

"Mobile suit," Jazz finished in equal shock.

"A Gundam," Cagalli whispered in barely contained fear and shock as well.

As everyone was letting the shock of seeing this massive Gundam sink in, Stella quickly took advantage of their moment of pause to fire the cannons in her machine's chest and mouth. Kira and the Autobots on the ground were quick to move away, but the shot sailed past them and destroyed a large portion of the city when it hit. They were barely given five minutes to recover from this horror when Tidal Wave suddenly opened fire on them as well, leading the Freedom to take evasive action and deflect the attacks with his beam saber, while Optimus and his team on the ground took cover wherever they could, and Superion tried to deflect the shots of the massive titan as best he could, with both an energon shield and his wrist swords.

"What's the point of all this," Kira demanded as he charged the two massive monsters once again, only to have his charge cut off when he was attacked by the Chaos and the custom Windam. Optimus and his team tried to back him up, but unfortunately, the Eradicons were soon on top of them, allowing Stinger a moment to try and take aim at the blue winged mobile suit.

Just when Stinger was about to fire though, he was knocked off his pedes by none other than Bumblebee, who was throwing him a very angry glare that showed stellar cycles of anger and hatred. "You're not going to harm any more of my friends, Stinger," Bumblebee snarled. "Today's the day when you and I settle things once and for all."

"Oh really," Stinger asked smugly. "I highly doubt you can stop me, Bee. After all, I taught you everything you know."

In response to this claim, Bumblebee was quick to throw a quick jab at Stinger, which was immediately blocked, along with the follow up kick. Stinger then deflected Bumblebee's left fist after the scout swung it at him, but he was caught completely off guard when Bumblebee spun around and slammed his right elbow into his face, following it up with a pair of kicks, knocking him off balance for a minute. When Stinger finally regained his balance, he looked up to see Bumblebee standing before him with both fists raised and a smirk on his face as the scout corrected, "You only taught me some of the things you know, but I've learned a lot more since those days, and it's all made me better."

"So it would seem," Stinger admitted as he assumed a fighting stance of his own. "But you should know, in all those sparring sessions we used to have, I was holding back."

"Yeah, I figured as much," Bumblebee replied. "That was why I was doing the same, most of the time."

Stinger stared at the gold and black stripe scout for a minute before he laughed and declared, "Well this takes me back. Almost like old times, huh?" When he received no reply in response, he then added, "You know, that offer I gave you that day still stands, Bee. I'm sure I can convince Lockdown to let you join us, and we could go back to being brothers again."

Bumblebee remained silent for only a moment after that, until he finally said, "I already have a brother. In fact, I already have several of them. The most notable go by the names of Bulkhead, Ironhide, and Kira Yamato, and they're just some of the biggest reasons why I'll never join scum like you."

Stinger scowled before he simply asked, "So then it really all ends here, huh?"

"To quote Optimus," Bumblebee replied. "At the end of this battle, one shall stand, and one shall fall."

With this declaration, Stinger assumed his own fighting stance, and the two immediately charged each other, beginning a final clash between former brothers that had been a long time coming, and which had never been matched by anything other than the final face-off between Optimus Prime and Megatron.

* * *

While the former brothers had begun their struggle, the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_ had tried to backup the Freedom and the rest of Optimus's team with their ships' weapons. Unfortunately, both attacks were deflected by the Destroy and Tidal Wave with what appeared to be very little effort, and seeing that the Chaos and Windam were not likely to give Kira and the other Autobots much breathing room, Cagalli quickly came to a decision. "I'm going out there. Kira and the others are outnumbered."

Murrue was quick to nod in acceptance of this, when Amagi suddenly called out to the bridge, _"Lady Cagalli, allow us to go with you."_

"What," Murrue and Natarle both exclaimed. Natarle was the only one to pick up on the surprise as she quickly asked, "Are you sure about that, Lieutenant Amagi?"

_"We know this battle has nothing to do with Orb or the conflicts involving the Transformers at the moment, beyond the Eradicons, but we can't just stand by and do nothing."_

Natarle wanted to argue with this, as did Cagalli and Murrue, since they did not want to let these brave soldiers risk their lives in a battle like this, but when they saw the Destroy detach its arms to launch a barrage on their two field teams from multiple sides, all possible arguments immediately vanished. "Okay, let's go," Cagalli agreed.

"Deck crew, prepare the Marasames for launch," Natarle called out over her headset, showing she had already read her captain's thoughts. "Target the Gottfrieds and Valiants!"

As Natarle and Murrue both gave out their orders, Elita turned to Ironhide and opened her mouth to give out orders as well, only for the weapons specialist to say, "Way ahead of you, Elita. Come on Hound, Jackie."

The remaining two Wreckers on the _Omega II_ instantly followed Ironhide to the ship's weapons locker before blasting out of the ship, and racing straight for Tidal Wave in their respective vehicle modes, avoiding enemy and friendly fire as they went. "Anyone else feeling a bit nostalgic right now," Wheeljack asked as he swerved aside to avoid one particular blast, slightly noting the Strike Rouge and the Marasame team heading out to meet the Chaos and the Windams as he did. "Because to be honest, I'm also kind of freaking out as well, just like the last time we had to do this."

"You mean the last time YOU guys had to do this," Ironhide reminded Wheeljack. "I was with Optimus while you guys went into Tidal Wave, remember?"

"My point still stands," Wheeljack retorted, just barely avoiding a blast from Demolisher as he did. Sideways then blasted onto the scene to try and throw them off course, but he was quickly cut off when Arcee slammed into them in her own motorcycle mode, bringing out a battle of two-wheelers as she did.

"We've got you guys covered! Keep going," Arcee shouted as she rammed Sideways in the side and knocked him off his wheels and onto his pedes as he transformed to stabilize himself. The two then engaged in a brutal battle as Bulkhead met Demolisher in a similar battle of fire power, allowing the three to race right up to, and then inside of Tidal Wave.

As this was happening, a small team of Marasames finally drove the Chaos away from the Freedom, allowing Cagalli a moment to fly up alongside her brother's mobile suit and call out, "We'll handle things here, Kira. You just go and help Optimus and the others."

"…Okay. Be careful, sis," Kira said after a moment, and he then immediately blasted off back towards the Destroy, just as Optimus and Ratchet had opened fire on the massive Gundam and Tidal Wave with an Ion Blaster and an Energon Repair Ray, respectively, the latter being set to the mode that would allow it to actually harm enemies. Cagalli only watched Kira, Optimus, and the others for a minute until she brought the Strike Rouge down for a quick landing so she could block a barrage of blasts that nearly hit a group of civilians with her shield, hoping that they would make it through this in one piece the whole time as she did.

* * *

As the battle raged on, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ were just arriving on the outskirts of Berlin, and were soon in visual range of the enemy machines. The image that appeared on the monitors of both ships was a sight that caused everyone to become nervous, as they now realized that they were about to take on such massive titans, even in Cybertronian terms, with nothing more than a single, fully functional mobile suit, three mobile suits that were barely at their best, and whoever Sentinel planned to send out as well. As they let this sink in, Blur and Bart began checking the thermal ID patterns to determine who was on the battlefield, and, naturally, Blur was able to complete the ID scan first. "Sir, ID scans confirm the signals of the Freedom, the Strike Rouge, some Marasames, and the _Archangel_, along with Orion Pax, Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, and the _Omega II_. They are engaged with the massive mobile suit and Tidal Wave, as well as the Eradicons, the Chaos, and some Windams as we speak. It's beyond crazy, its pure chaos, it's completely nuts, it's…" Blur reported in his usual high speed voice.

"We get it, Blur," the entire _Xanthium_ bridge crew shouted as Bart confirmed the fast moving Autobots readouts for the _Minerva_.

"But why are those ships and Autobots here," Arthur exclaimed.

"I think that would be obvious Commander Trine," Scattershot snarled.

"They take their self-appointed roles of guardian angels seriously," Talia clarified for everyone. "Any cry for help, and they come swooping in."

"It doesn't matter at this point," Sentinel said. "At this point in time, their goals coincide with our own, so for the moment, we will consider them as temporary allies."

"Yes sir," the _Xanthium_ Autobots replied.

"Evac, you're in command," Sentinel then ordered. "Tracks, Smokescreen, Crosshairs, and Drift, you're mission is the same. Chromia, Scattershot, Mirage, and Kup, you're with me."

The Autobots that Sentinel had just mentioned all began to move out, as Evac took the _Xanthium_ to Combat Alert status, while the _Minerva_ went to Condition: Red. Shinn was preparing to head for the Core Splendor while Yzak, Heine, and Dearka headed for their own machines as well, when Talia called down to them in the pilot's briefing room. "The situation is more chaotic than I imagined," Talia informed the only pilots who were able to take action at the moment along with Athrun, Lunamaria, and Rey. "We can't contact any of our frontline military forces, and the enemy is being engaged by the Freedom, the _Archangel_, the _Omega II_, and Team Optimus."

"What? How come? What're they doing here," Shinn demanded in shock.

"I don't know what their plan is, and I'm sure that while he likely does know, Sentinel Prime is not all that willing to explain it either," Talia admitted, getting looks of confusion from all but four of the pilots. "But right now, you only have the two targets: Tidal Wave and the massive enemy machine. I know our fighting strength is limited right now, but our ship has been ordered to stop those two no matter what it takes. Headquarters and Sentinel are depending on you, Shinn, so do your best."

Talia then cut the communication, and the three veteran pilots headed for the elevator to go to their machines, but they quickly found that Shinn was not following them, as he appeared to be lost in thought. The Impulse pilot then looked to Athrun as he asked, "What…do you think they're doing out here?"

Athrun only looked at Shinn for a minute before he replied, "Probably the same thing you think they're doing here. You do think that they're here to help right?" Shinn's silence was all the confirmation that Athrun needed, and he then smiled and said, "In that case, don't think for a second that they are the enemy today, because they aren't, and they will do everything they can to help stop those two."

Shinn stared at Athrun until eventually he nodded in understanding and raced to join the other three pilots so that he could head out and back up Sentinel and the others. Before he had gotten in though, Shinn was stopped by Lunamaria as the girl wrapped her good arm around him in the best hug she could manage at the moment and softly said, "Please be careful out there, alright?"

Shinn glanced back at Lunamaria, and when he saw how her eyes were practically begging him to say that he would come back alive, no matter what happened, the young pilot could only smile a kind, caring smile as he nodded and returned the girl's hug before he joined the others in heading to their machines. Lunamaria watched him go only for a minute, until Athrun's teasing voice suddenly said, "You know if you were waiting for the best moment to confess your feelings for him or at least plant one on him, then that was it."

Lunamaria's blushing face and immediate stuttering in response was all the reason that Athrun and Rey needed to burst out laughing, despite the tense atmosphere of the struggle that was to come, and allowing Athrun to secretly pray for his friends' survival in this battle without anyone suspecting a thing.

* * *

Needless to say, the battle had grown to unbelievable levels of intensity as Cagalli and the Marasame team kept both the civilians safe, and the Chaos and Windams busy while Kira and Optimus's team engaged Tidal Wave and the Destroy, with their ships providing what support they could whenever they were able, but unfortunately, Kira was also having to deal with Neo Roanoke and his custom Windam, and Optimus had found himself facing off with Lockdown, as the Eradicon leader had armed his head cannon and fired on Optimus the moment he had a clear shot with a consecutive barrage. Thankfully, Optimus was able to keep Lockdown from firing said weapon on any of his teammates, but it had caused him to be forced away from said team, leaving them to fend off the Eradicons on their own, and forcing him and Kira to both take on the massive monsters and the commanders of said monsters by themselves. Upon realizing this, Kira had gone into SEED Burst mode, and was instantly fighting at his maximum strength, while Optimus felt he had finally had enough, and pulled out the Star Saber in order to send a massive energy burst in both Lockdown and Tidal Wave's direction.

While Optimus's attack fazed Lockdown a great deal, the same could not be said for Tidal Wave, as it seemed that the mighty weapon of Prima had only left a large scratch on the large 'Con's body as a result. Granted it was more than most Autobots had ever been able to do to Tidal Wave before, but it was still not enough to defeat the titan of Cybertronians. Optimus was about to launch another attack on Tidal Wave with the Star Saber, when Cyclonus and Thrust bombarded him from above, allowing Lockdown to hit Optimus dead center with his head cannon, placing him directly in the line of fire for Tidal Wave's next attack.

Kira would have moved to help Optimus, but unfortunately, the pilot of the custom Windam was not allowing Kira to get close to either the Destroy or the Autobot leader, and thus Kira was forced to continue to battle against said machine. As he continued to do so though, Kira sensed something familiar about his opponent, not only in the way he fought, but also in the presence that Neo Roanoke gave off to Kira, like he was someone that Kira knew from somewhere. Before he could think any further on it, Kira saw Tidal Wave launch his attack on Optimus, and immediately panicked, thinking that Optimus was done for, until he picked up a group of signals approaching the battlefield.

The source of those signals was soon revealed when something flew in front of Optimus and deflected the attack on him. When the smoke cleared, everyone was surprised to see that it was Sentinel Prime who had flown in to deflect the blast with his shield forward, and his flight-tech modulator equipped, and that surprise quickly became worry when they saw Sentinel's team, the _Xanthium_, the Impulse, and the _Minerva_ approaching not long after. Everyone braced themselves for a confrontation with the Z.A.F.T.-Autobots, when Sentinel landed and then turned to Optimus, held out his free hand and said, "It would seem that we have similar goals in this matter, Orion, so I propose a truce until this is over. Agreed?"

Optimus only stared at Sentinel's offered hand for a minute, as if thinking over the offer, until finally he accepted the hand, and allowed Sentinel to help him up to his feet as he declared, "Agreed. We shall call it a truce until after this battle and its immediate aftermath is over."

Sentinel nodded as he and Optimus then stood side by side to one and other, both feeling nostalgic as Sentinel raised his shield and Optimus his sword, and they cried out together, "Autobots roll out!"

The response was instantaneous, as Scattershot raced up alongside Bulkhead to fire on Cyclonus, Thrust, and Eradicon drones, Kup started to slash away at opponents with Ratchet, Arcee and Chromia began fighting side by side like only true sisters could, and Mirage slashed through opponents with relative ease that you only find from a master swordsman. As he continued his barrage, Scattershot looked to Bulkhead and stated, "I know that this isn't Orion Pax's main attack force when it comes to Tidal Wave, but when did being a former Wrecker mean being a coward as well?"

"His name is Optimus Prime," Bulkhead shouted as he smashed an Eradicon drone with his wrecking ball and fired on another squadron with his blaster. "And I wanted to be part of that team, but Optimus needed me here more, just like I figured your backstabbing leader thought you'd actually be of some help here."

"Whatever helps you take a stasis rest, traitor," Scattershot retorted as he fired a barrage from his shoulder guns at Cyclonus.

As the two Wreckers continued to argue with each other on who was right and who was not while fighting, Arcee and Chromia were engaged in battle against both Sideways and Bonecrusher, and the way they were fighting together could not stop the smile that came to Chromia's face. "Kind of makes you think of all those times when we fought together on Cybertron, huh Little Cee," Chromia asked as she landed a pair of kicks against the former Constructicon, followed up by a slash from one of her arm blades.

"As I recall, none of those fights were in a war zone," Arcee reminded Chromia as she executed a similar maneuver on Sideways, except ending with a blast from her Plasma Cannon instead of a slash from her arm blades. "And were actually against whatever punk decided to try and bully or push us or Elita around."

"Eh, details, details," Chromia waved off as she blasted some drones and Windams out of the sky.

Meanwhile, Kup and Ratchet were having a small debate as they fought, much like Bulkhead and Scattershot, only with a few obvious differences. "If you think for a second that you're able to outmatch me, kid, you've got another thing coming. After all, no traitor can best me."

"First off, we're not the traitors here," Ratchet shouted as he fired his ray into some oncoming enemies. "And second off, I think that would be true if you had not spent so much time in stasis while the rest of the universe continued to move on."

"Why you ungrateful, little," Kup started to say, but he was immediately cut off when Ratchet pushed him down and slashed apart an enemy from behind, then blasted another group effortlessly with his default blaster, and drove Demolisher back with his ray. He paused for a moment to throw a smug look at Kup, who could only say one thing in response before returning to the battle. "That doesn't prove anything."

During this time, Optimus and Sentinel had taken it upon themselves to assist the Freedom and the Impulse in fighting the Destroy and Tidal Wave, and as they raced, flew, and blasted their way around the two giants, Sentinel smiled as he said, "Just like old times, wouldn't you say, Orion?"

"Not entirely, Sentinel," Optimus admitted.

Sentinel then glanced around as he asked, "Wait, where's your scout right now?"

"He is currently engaging Stinger in battle," Optimus answered.

Sentinel just nodded and then called out, "Mirage, provide Bumblebee with backup."

"Belay that order," Optimus shouted. "Keep your men away from there, Sentinel. Look to that battle and see for yourself what is taking place at this moment." Optimus paused as Sentinel looked in the direction of the two previously mentioned combatants, and then explained, "This is a battle that only they can fight, and one that Bumblebee had requested that he would fight alone. We cannot interfere in such a matter, for it is not a matter of pride, but one of honor, and of personal importance to my young friend. To put it simply, this is Bumblebee's fight."

Sentinel stared at said fight for another minute, watching as Bumblebee and Stinger matched each other; nearly blow for blow, as the former began to gain the upper hand, and then finally tapped his comm. link again and said, "Mirage, cancel that previous order. Provide support to the Marasames and the Strike Rouge instead."

Optimus nodded in thanks, and they then turned their attention back to their own fight, just as the Impulse brought the Destroy to its knees. This action caught Neo's attention, and he immediately broke off from his battle with the Freedom to charge in at the Impulse, allowing Kira a chance to fire all of the Freedom's weapons on the Destroy while it was down. Shinn was about to charge in again, when he was suddenly tackled to a stop in midair by Neo's Windam, as the captain shouted out, "No kid. Stop!"

"What now," Shinn cried out in surprise.

"The pilot of that machine is Stella," Neo then revealed, and that was when Shinn felt all his determination to stop the Destroy suddenly vanish. He then moved his machine off the Windam as he zoomed in on the now slashed open cockpit of the Destroy, and saw, much to his horror, that the Alliance captain was telling the truth. Seeing that her enemy had stopped though, Stella merely moved the Destroy in to attack the Impulse with the Destroy's arm blasters. Thankfully, her shot was blocked by the Freedom's shield, just before Kira fired his railguns at one of the Destroy's knees.

"Impulse, what're you doing," Kira called out as the Destroy struggled to regain its balance for a minute. "You're a sitting duck like that!"

"Shinn, what's wrong," Sentinel shouted as he fired his own Ion Blaster at Tidal Wave while Optimus fired his default blasters and unleashed energy waves from the Star Saber.

Seeing that everyone was distracted by the Impulse's moment of pause, Neo took the opportunity to attack the Freedom, only for Optimus to shout out a warning to Kira that allowed him to avoid being hit by the beam blast the blonde captain fired on him, and then lose his shield in order to block the dagger that was thrown a minute later. Just as he raised his beam rifle, Kira finally realized why the pilot of the custom Windam felt so familiar, and then immediately radioed his ship to say, "Miss Murrue, come and get this pilot."

Murrue and Natarle were both confused by this request, but quickly began to do as Kira requested when he finally shot down the Windam, not knowing what they would find when they reached said pilot. As they did so, the Destroy had begun a massive barrage along with Tidal Wave, as Stella had gone completely berserk after seeing Neo's machine get shot down, and while Shinn could do nothing more than watch on in silent shock, even as the _Minerva_ called out to him, Kira and the two Primes continued to either evade the enemies' attacks or try to score some small bit of damage to each of them. The whole time the two Primes were attacking their opponents, they could only silently hope that their teams on the inside were doing alright.

* * *

When Optimus and Sentinel were thinking of teams on the inside, they were actually referring to the Autobots of both their teams that had managed to fight their way inside of Tidal Wave. Those teams consisted of Ironhide, Hound, and Wheeljack from Team Optimus, and Tracks, Smokescreen, Crosshairs, and Drift from Team Sentinel, and it was in no time at all that the two teams eventually ran into each other and discovered that they both shared the same mission. With that in mind, they all agreed to work together and immediately split into groups so that they could secure their objective more easily. As he proceeded to their target with Ironhide, Tracks cut his comm. link off for a minute and whispered to the weapons specialist, "Listen, I'm going to need to contact you with some vital information later. It involves Sentinel's true intentions."

Ironhide threw a glare at Tracks as he asked, "Give me one good reason why I should give a frag as to what you might have to say, or why I should even trust you."

"Because I acquired the codes necessary from Athrun Zala," Tracks revealed. "If he trusts me, then shouldn't you?"

Ironhide considered this for a minute, and knowing that their current position and situation was neither the time nor place for such a conversation, he simply nodded and then said, "You get one shot, and if you prove to be right, we'll do what we can to get you out of Sentinel's hold as soon as possible. If you're trying to pull something though…I'll leave it to your imagination."

Tracks nodded in acceptance of this just as the two entered the area they were headed for. The power source for Tidal Wave's main shields, and the very thing that kept him from receiving even a little damage from anything short of Omega Supreme. The two then spotted Hound and Crosshairs standing ready in their own position above them, and then waited until they heard Wheeljack call out, _"We're good to go on this end, boys. Drift, the kid, and I have planted the bombs on Tidal Wave's T-Cog, and we're waiting for the signal to set 'em off."_

"Roger that," Ironhide responded, and he then turned to Tracks and the others as he signaled that they were good to go. A minute later, the four had fired everything they had the shield power source, and the device began to spark, shake, and explode the minute they ceased their barrage, prompting them to transform and race out of there as fast as they could. As he continued to race through the hallways inside of the Eradicon titan, Ironhide was shouting, "Now, Wheeljack! Do it now!"

When Wheeljack heard that, he merely smirked with glee as he hit the trigger and set off the explosives. As soon as he did, he was racing away with Drift and Smokescreen hot on his tailpipe as the T-Cog was consumed in a fiery inferno. After what seemed like an eternity for some of them, the two teams finally met up and were nearly out of Tidal Wave, when they found themselves cut off by Motormaster and the Stunticons. "Going somewhere, slowpokes," Wildrider asked.

"Yeah, out of here before your little ace takes a one-way trip to the AllSpark," Smokescreen retorted as he transformed and prepared to fire along with Crosshairs and Ironhide.

"You're joking," Dirt Boss chuckled along with his fellow Stunticons. When Tidal Wave suddenly shook under the force of an explosion though, their laughter immediately ceased.

"Still want to take that chance," Ironhide asked. The answer became pretty obvious when the five Stunticons all glanced at each other and then transformed into their vehicle modes to race out before they were consumed by any blasts, allowing Ironhide and the others to jump out as well, as he called out, "Optimus, mission is a success! Tidal Wave is vulnerable now! I repeat: Tidal Wave is vulnerable!"

"Good work Autobots," Optimus shouted when he heard that, and he immediately charged in with Sentinel close behind him in the sky, the latter firing everything he had and then allowing Optimus to leap up onto his back so that he could get some altitude before unleashing the most powerful burst from the Star Saber that Optimus could manage at the time. The attack score a direct hit to Tidal Wave's torso and much to everyone's shock, the massive giant stumbled back until he fell onto his butt.

Seeing that the Autobots had things well in hand with Tidal Wave now, Kira charged the Destroy with the Freedom, but he was quickly forced back by the Impulse, who was clearly not trying to hit Kira with any of his attacks. "Shinn, what're you doing," Sentinel demanded when he saw this.

"We're trying to stop that thing same as you," Kira shouted at the Impulse.

"No, don't," Shinn shouted, shocking everyone. "You guys don't know what's going on here! The pilot of that thing…it's her! It's Stella!"

That was all Shinn needed to say to get everyone to realize why Shinn had stopped when he did, and even as the Destroy continued to fire at anything in sight, Kira merely looked at the Impulse before he asked, "Do you really think you can get her to stop before this goes any further?"

"I'm sure of it," Shinn confirmed without a minute of hesitation.

"Then go," Kira encouraged. "I'll try to stay back for as long as I can. I don't want the sight of the Freedom to accidentally set her off again."

"Thank you," Shinn replied, and he immediately flew the Impulse slowly towards the Destroy, letting the blasts continue to fly around him like they were not even close to hitting him. When Sting saw what Shinn was trying to do, he moved to intercept him, only to be caught off guard by a sudden blast from his blind spot. Sting then looked and saw that the Verde Buster was firing on him, and allowing the Blu Duel and the Savior to swoop in and disable his mobile suit long enough for the Marasame team and the Strike Rouge to finish the machine with one fell swoop.

Shinn nodded in thanks to both teams for their help just as the two teams did the same to each other, and then turned his attention to the Destroy just as it was raising its arm to fire its finger lasers at him. Before they weapons could even charge up, Shinn shouted out, "Stella, it's alright! You're not going to die! I gave you my word that I would protect you, and so did Lunamaria, Athrun, and all the rest of us! Remember?"

When Shinn shouted that, the Destroy seemed to freeze where it was, much like its pilot had, and then it lowered its offending arm just as Stella looked out and smiled when she saw the Impulse floating there. Everyone was still a bit tense in case it was not truly over, but for the moment it seemed that it was. That moment was quickly lost when Tidal Wave suddenly threw his arm towards the Destroy as he lashed out in pain from the barrage of attacks that had damaged and injured him so.

The moment she was hit, Stella was immediately thrown back into her fit of hysteria, and everyone who was able to attack the Destroy prepared to fire on her, but in the end, it was Tidal Wave who fired the killing shot on the massive Gundam, sending the Destroy crashing to the ground. The minute he saw this, Shinn snarled as he turned to Tidal Wave and shouted, "You bastard!"

That moment when he brought his attention to the massive Eradicon, Shinn entered SEED Burst mode, and joined the Freedom and all of the Autobots in throwing everything they had at the massive Cybertronian titan. The assault on Tidal Wave was so massive, that one would not consider it an attack, but an all-out attempt to slaughter the monster, and considering all the things that Tidal Wave was now responsible for, it would not surprise anyone if that was exactly what the pilots and Autobots were going for. Soon enough, the barrage of attacks had done what it was meant to do, and Tidal Wave collapsed as he went offline for good, leading Lockdown to call for a full retreat for his forces, which Astrotrain quickly provided with his space shuttle mode.

* * *

The only one who did not follow Lockdown's retreat order was Stinger, as he merely shrugged it off before he cut off his comm. link and told Bumblebee, "Seems that we're all that's left here. No real point in continuing any further, Bee."

"Well you're more than welcome to run away again like the coward you are," Bumblebee smirked behind his battle mask.

"You wish," Stinger said, and he immediately whipped out a wrist blade before assuming a stance. "Like you said, kid, after this is over, only one of us is going to walk away."

"Then let's end this now," Bumblebee snarled as he readied one of his default blasters. The two just squared off with each other for a moment, and then finally charged each other, each knowing that the next attack would be their last for two reasons. One was that after fighting for so long, that was all the energy they had left for, and the other was simply because they could feel this was one of those moments that decided everything in a battle between two warriors. As soon as he was within range, Stinger swung his blade directly at Bumblebee, and that was when everything suddenly seemed to begin moving in slow motion, for the minute he launched his attack, Bumblebee ducked under the blade, and grabbed the arm it was attached to before he pulled Stinger forward, and fired his blaster at its maximum output, directly into Stinger's spark chamber.

Stinger gasped for a few seconds, until he felt himself fall limp and then be caught in Bumblebee's arms. When Stinger looked up, he could see the expression on Bumblebee's face was not one of proud victory, but of deep sorrow. Stinger only gazed at the young scout's expression for only another moment until he weakly chuckled, "You know…the winner…shouldn't…look so…sad. It's…not…appropriate."

"Stinger," Bumblebee whispered.

"Don't…don't try to…pity me, Bumblebee," Stinger weakly scolded. "I…I knew this might…happen one day…I'm just glad that…you're the one…who ended me."

"Brother," Bumblebee then cried out in sorrow.

Stinger's optics then widened a bit and he looked at Bumblebee in shock as he asked, "How…how can you…still call me that…after all I've done?"

"I could tell," Bumblebee admitted. "I could tell that you really didn't want this. The whole time, I could see it in your optics that you wanted to stick with us and really be with the Autobots, but you knew you couldn't because of what Lockdown would do to you if you did."

Stinger could only continue staring at Bumblebee until he finally smiled and said, "You really do…know me too well…little brother. I only wish…we really were brothers…for real."

"We are," Bumblebee protested. "We always have been. Maybe not by any real relation like with Arcee and Chromia, but definitely by the bond we once held."

Stinger then smiled again as he weakly raised his fist up to Bumblebee, and the two exchanged a small fist bump, and he simply said, "Thank you…my brother…looks like…you're the one who's stronger…and better looking now…Goodbye, and thank you…for everything."

Bumblebee froze as he realized that Stinger remembered those words that he once told him long ago, and then just cried out in agony at the loss of his older brother figure. He then rested Stinger down on the ground, and then stood up to move over to where the _Archangel_ crew was, to see if they needed any help, only to find that they were all staring at Neo Roanoke in shock. When Bumblebee turned to face the pilot, he immediately understood why, as Neo Roanoke's mask had fallen off, and revealed the face of someone they had all thought was dead.

"It can't be," Bumblebee gasped, and when Arcee and Wheeljack joined him, they also adopted looks of shock, though Wheeljack's was one that most similar to the one that Murrue Ramius held, only being bested in that regard by Natarle Badgiruel.

"Mu," Wheeljack gasped in shock. As soon as he asked that, Murrue found herself on the verge of tears until Ratchet rolled up in his ambulance mode and began shouting out orders for them to help him get the man who looked so much like Mu La Flaga to the _Archangel_.

Everyone quickly did as the Autobot medic had requested, but the whole time, Murrue was not able to move from where she stood until Natarle began to lead her back to the ship. As they watched this, all of the Autobots and members of the _Archangel_ crew who saw it could tell that a whole new list of questions had just suddenly arose for them.

* * *

Seeing that the battle was now over, Shinn immediately flew the Impulse over to where the Destroy was now lying in ruin, and he had just pulled Stella out of the wreckage with help from Dearka and Heine when Lunamaria arrived on the scene thanks to some assistance from Springer. After he had finally rested her on the ground, Lunamaria was able to see clear as day that Shinn was right, for there, lying before them, was none other than Stella Loussier. "Oh my god," Yzak gasped in horrified shock when he saw for himself.

"How…how could this have happened," Lunamaria asked, all the while, never noticing as the _Archangel_-Autobots had begun retreating in sorrow or Sentinel's team approach them with sad looks as well.

Just as Shinn and Lunamaria found themselves on the verge of tears, Stella began to stir a bit, and then smiled at the two as she weakly asked, "Shinn…Luna…did you both come…to see me?"

Shinn immediately grabbed Stella's hand as Lunamaria dropped to her knees and said, "Yeah, we're right here Stella. Don't worry."

Stella smiled for a bit until she said, "Shinn…Luna…thank you…both for…trying…to…protect me."

"Don't talk like that," Lunamaria shouted. "Don't try to talk at all! Listen to me, Stella; it's going to be alright! We're going to get you help!"

Stella just smiled at Lunamaria as she shook her head and said, "It's okay…I'm not…scared any…more. You two…are…my…best…friends…ever."

The minute she finished saying that, Stella's hand fell from Shinn's grasp, and flopped weakly to the ground, just as her eyes closed with tears of happiness raining from them. Lunamaria looked at both Kup and the recently arrived Red Alert, begging them to tell her that what they were seeing was not true, but the two could only lower their scanner and shake their heads in the negative, confirming that the young woman, who was once their enemy, and an Alliance Extended, was dead. Lunamaria felt tears beginning to run down her face, until she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked to see Shinn giving her a sad, teary look of his own as he said, "Let's go give her a proper burial."

Lunamaria just nodded in agreement of this, and Sentinel allowed Springer to fly them off to somewhere that Shinn felt would be an appropriate place to lay the young woman to rest. As he watched them go, Sentinel's spark truly went out to the two pilots, but he knew that there were other matters to deal with. A fact that he proved true when he turned to Chromia and said, "Have the _Xanthium_ Ground Bridge prepped for transport to the PLANTs. You're in command until I return. It is time for the end game to begin."

Chromia nodded and did as she was told while she and the others watched Sentinel fly back to his ship so that he could prepare for his trip to the PLANTs, with only his inner circle knowing that he was going to finish something very important before he left on this journey.

* * *

Almost a day had passed since the battle against Tidal Wave and the Destroy, and the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_ had temporarily set down in a remote location that they were sure that neither Z.A.F.T. nor Sentinel would be able to locate for the moment. As the two ships went through the necessary repairs both to the vessels themselves and the machines aboard the _Archangel_, the crews were both finding that they now had more questions than ever before. To start off, there was the message that they had received from Tracks, but the message was mostly in code, which made sense because they figured he would not want to be exposed just yet, and while they could understand some of the message, other parts did not make sense at all.

The message itself had read: the Sentinel of peace has fallen into shadow, and soon a silver blade of legend will clash with a modern one of gold. The forge has been used to form the life blood into a weapon, and the day of darkness's revelation is now upon us. They all immediately knew that Sentinel was about to reveal his true colors to the world, but as for the other parts of the message, they could only assume that the "silver blade of legend" was a reference to the Star Saber, while the forge that had been mentioned referenced something involving the Forge of Solus Prime. Beyond that, they had no clue what the rest of the message could possibly mean.

Then there was the newest guest in the _Archangel_'s medical bay, who was receiving a visit from Murrue, Natarle, Kira, Murdoch, Ratchet and Elita's Holo-Form and Wheeljack via a Holo-Comm. As they looked on at the man who looked so much like Mu La Flaga, Bumblebee and Optimus joined in on the holo-comm. as the former asked, "So has our newest patient woken up yet?"

"Kind of," Murrue replied, sadly, prompting Natarle to place a somewhat comforting hand on the captain's shoulder.

"He woke up briefly while he was being treated," Elita explained as her Holo-From waved a scanner over said patient's body. "He claimed he was Captain Neo Roanoke of the Alliance Forces, part of the Eighty First Autonomous Mobile Group, but after we ran the results through both ships' databases, we came up with a one hundred percent match to what we have on both records. This man is Mu La Flaga."

"No way," Bumblebee gasped in shock.

"I wouldn't have believed it either had I not run some of the tests and seen the results myself," Ratchet informed the scout. "But it is true, at least in terms of his physical shell."

At the four humans' looks of confusion, Elita immediately said, "He means it's Mu's body."

"There's gotta be a logical explanation," Murdoch then said. "I mean, this is the commander, right?"

"It would appear so, due to the lack of doubt on the matter," Optimus replied.

"That's funny. When did I become a commander," a new, eerily familiar voice suddenly cut in, getting everyone to jump in shock, right to the point that Murrue had jumped out of her chair, as they all looked to Neo Roanoke, who had just spoken in Mu's exact voice. "I've already made it clear to you that I'm a captain," Neo continued to say. "I'm your prisoner, but it doesn't mean you can demote me."

No one said anything at all for what seemed to be an eternity, and that actually brought a look of confusion to Neo's face as he stared at all the people and obvious Transformers who were looking at him like they had just seen a ghost or a long-lost friend back from the dead. When he glanced over at Murrue, who's eyes had already started to let tears fall, Neo suddenly felt something familiar about her. He was not sure what it was, but Neo was sure that he knew the _Archangel_ captain from somewhere, despite the fact he was certain that he had never met her before in his life, and yet there was still something about her that sparked something within him. Eventually, Neo began to get a bit nervous about this feeling and the sight of the woman crying at the sight of him, until finally, he ended up asking, "Uh, what did I do? What's the deal good looking? Falling for me?"

That ended up being the wrong thing to say, as Murrue could no longer stay put and raced out of the room as her tears continued to fall. Natarle only shot the man who they were all certain was Mu La Flaga a scowl before she went after Murrue to try and calm her down, at least a little, which Kira followed up with by angrily shouting, "Hey Mu!"

"Say what," Neo asked. "My name isn't Mu, kid."

"Okay, now you're seriously going way too far," Wheeljack shouted. "Drop the act, you lousy, fragging, idiot!"

"What act," Neo asked, getting even more confused by the minute.

"Seriously, enough already," Wheeljack snapped as his hologram got into Neo's face. "You just come back from the dead, acting like you're some other person, but the minute we find out it's you, you go and pull a stunt like that?!"

Neo stared at the Autobot's hologram for another minute before he finally asked, "Do I…know you from somewhere or something?"

Wheeljack just looked at the blonde man who was tied to the medical bed in shock for a minute before he finally shook himself out of it and said, "Now I know you're messing with me. There's no way you could forget me. I'm Wheeljack, you know, the 'Bot who calls you his wingman? We took on the Decimators with Sai, Murdoch, and the other Wreckers."

"I'd think I'd remember fighting alongside any Autobots," Neo remarked.

Before anyone could say anything else, Ratchet's Holo-From shooed everyone out of the room, recommending they leave for a minute as he did both for the patient's sake, and for the sake of something that they needed to discuss. Once they were all out in the hallway, they could all see Miriallia had joined Natarle in helping to calm down the captain, and that prompted Murdoch to only whisper, "Has he lost his memories?"

"Unlikely," Ratchet immediately replied. "Whether it is among Cybertronians or even humans, memories are not necessarily lost, merely suppressed, misplaced, or even hidden away in the memory banks until certain stimuli cause them to surface again."

"In English for those of us who don't understand all that, Ratchet," Kira requested, having understood it himself, but knowing that none of the others would have.

"Oh please. Even a sparkling would be able to understand that," Ratchet scoffed.

"Yeah, a sparkling from Cybertron," Bumblebee rebuffed. He then turned to the others and explained as best he could, "It's not that his memories are lost, they're just being blocked out until something happens that makes him remember them."

"So, it's like they've been replaced," Murdoch asked.

"Yes, exactly," Ratchet replied. "Every being's memories are always with them, but over a certain amount of time, or through other matters, the pathways to those memories can become damaged or even blocked while new ones take shape in their mind. Though I must admit, while all evidence aside from his mental recollection seems to say that it is him, are we certain that it truly is Mu La Flaga?"

"Yes, it's him. That's definitely Mu in there," Kira immediately told him. "I could tell somehow."

"Be that as it may, if that truly is Mu La Flaga, and he truly does not remember who he really is, it will make things that much more difficult for Murrue Ramius," Optimus informed them, a sentiment that they all could not help but agree with.

* * *

Meanwhile back in Berlin, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ had both begun doing what they could to help the victims of the attack that had been launched by the Destroy and the Eradicons, and Athrun could barely stand the sight of such devastation which only proved that he could not do anything more than sit on the sidelines this time when he knew he should have been out there helping. This had led him to stay inside the ship as much as possible and away from any place that would remind of the terrible horrors that had just taken place, and noting Yzak, Heine, and Dearka commenting on how all of their Gundams would be inoperable until they returned to a proper port for repairs on them after what had happened in the last battle as he walked through the hangar. Eventually, his tour of the ship had led him to nearly bump into Shinn, who had just returned with Lunamaria and Springer after laying Stella to rest in a place only those three knew about.

Athrun was about to apologize to Shinn, when the crimson eyed pilot cut him off saying, "I need your help with something."

Athrun was naturally confused by this sudden statement, but all the same he was willing to help and just simply asked, "What's up?"

Shinn then hesitated until he finally said, "I need you to help me figure out how to fight against the Freedom." Athrun's look of horror in response was to be expected of course, but before he could protest, Shinn quickly requested, "Just hear me out. I know that the Freedom and its allies are not really our enemies, despite what headquarters or Sentinel Prime says, but I can't help but think that we'll be forced to fight against them soon enough for whatever reason, and expected to take them out. If that is the case, I just want to know how to beat him without killing him, if at all possible. Believe me, I really don't want to have to fight him like this, but with the way things have been lately, I'm not sure how much longer it can be avoided."

Athrun stared at Shinn for a minute, considering everything he had said, until he finally nodded in acceptance and offered to show the younger pilot a few things in his quarters. As they went though, Athrun had to ask, "Is that really all there is to that reason?"

Shinn then gained a sheepish expression as he finally admitted, "Well, I guess there's also the fact that I've actually always wanted to fight against the Freedom and its pilot, just to see how good I really am. I mean, I know some people have compared me to him a lot, but I really don't think that I would really do that kind of thing justice until I've actually faced him in a fair fight, you know?"

Athrun just chuckled a bit as they entered his room and sat down at his desk, and said, "Fair enough." He then gained a serious expression as he slipped a small card to Shinn while beginning a brief explanation on how to fight against Kira, and when Shinn saw the message on it, he was both shocked and confused by its meaning. When he looked to Athrun for an explanation though, the veteran pilot just gave Shinn a look that said not to react to it or talk about it out loud, and Shinn could only nod in reply, doing his best to make it seem like he was nodding in understanding to something Athrun had said, all the while wondering just what the message had meant.

* * *

While Shinn and Athrun were having their small discussion, Chairman Durandal was preparing to make an announcement to the world that would change everything for everyone, the true evidence of this was emphasized by the fact that Meer Campbell was there along with a certain red and black fire truck. After a few final preparations, the signal was given, and Durandal began his announcement to the world. "Everyone, I am the chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council," Durandal began. "I am Gilbert Durandal. I know it is unseemly of me to be broadcasting such a message at this time, given that a state of war still exists between the PLANTs and the people of Earth, but please forgive me. I beg your indulgence. Please listen to what I have to say."

As his message continued, it became obvious that it was going out over every form of media across the world, and out in Earth's area of space, including on the secret hangar that the _Eternal_ was hidden, where Lacus Clyne, Andrew Waltfeld, Aisha, and one Flay Allster were watching from. "I'd like to explain something to all of you. Allow me to explain the reason why this war has not yet come to an end, the true reason why we once again found ourselves at war in the first place. I'm certain many of you do not know the real reasons, because it is not the policy of most nations to reveal this information."

A minute later, video images of the battle against Tidal Wave and the Destroy Gundam were being displayed on the monitors of all video media across the globe, and the reaction for those who had not seen or known of this before was naturally one of horror, but one thing that people like Athrun and Shinn had noted was that the images had been edited to make it seem as if the forces of the _Archangel_-Autobots had not been there. "These images were taken merely a day ago when the Alliance's new super weapon emerged from Central Eurasia, along with a massive warrior of another world, and advanced westward, destroying whole cities in their paths," Durandal explained. "I know many of you believe that the stories of beings from another world were just that, stories, but I believe that it is far past time for you to know the truth. The beings known as the Transformers of Planet Cybertron are real, and this monster that fought alongside of the Alliance's super weapon was one of the most terrible, and despicable of them. This weapon and this Eradicon, as the group is called, attacked without warning. They wiped out four cities, killing many of the citizens who had done no misdeed beyond simply being friendly with Coordinators, and unknowingly with the Transformers who had sworn to defend us, the Autobots."

"As soon as we became aware of it, Z.A.F.T.-Autobot Forces engaged the weapon in battle, and though we did stop it, regretfully many lives were lost before the weapon and the Eradicon known as Tidal Wave were destroyed. The cities of Earth were attacked by the Earth Forces, who had formed an alliance with one of the most evil groups of Transformers ever to roam the universe. Why did this happen? The Alliance had declared its goal to be the liberation of the region from the tyranny of Z.A.F.T., and also so that they may purge the Earth of the alien menace known as the Transformers, but does this look like liberation, and what reason have the Autobots ever given us to consider them as a menace? The burning of entire cities along with their citizens, and attacking those who had saved us all from the terror of the Decepticons, who had nearly destroyed the Earth?!"

"It is true that we disapproved of the Alliance's policies and their decision to ally with the Eradicons, and for humanitarian reasons we have supported those seeking independence from Eurasia, one of the Alliance's member nations. We have supported those who want an end to this pointless and seemingly perpetual warfare, those individuals who wished to return to a life of normalcy. They no longer wish to fight, all they desire is to live in peace with their loved ones, and these are the kinds of people to whom we have given our support."

After he said that, the broadcast showed the victims of the Destroy and Tidal Wave's attack as the cried out in shame and rallied others together to stand up against the Alliance, after which Durandal continued by saying, "But the Alliance scorned our desire for peace, and the Autobots' desire to simply live among us when they had nowhere else to go after the destruction of their own planet. It turned its attention to the citizens of Western Eurasia, who cooperated with us, who chose the path of peace over a world torn asunder by a hateful war, and the Alliance passed judgment, called them traitors, and burned them in their homes, even children! Why? Why does it have to be this way?! Who says peace is not permitted among our own kind, let alone among us and other worlds, that you have to fight no matter what?! Who says it, and why would they say it? Why can't they let us live together hand in hand in peace?"

At this point, Meer placed a hand on Durandal's arm, calming him down from his passionate rant, and allowing her to give a speech on how she believed that they could truly live together in peace, and how she believed that was what everyone still wanted despite what had happened. When she finished, Durandal went on to say, "I realize that my claims that the stories of the Transformers are actually true may seem irrelevant to all that has been said, and that it may not seem to be real, and that is why, today, I have asked that the true leader of Cybertron's champions of freedom speak to you today. Ladies and gentlemen of the PLANTs, of Earth, and everywhere, allow me to present to you the captain of the _Xanthium_, and the leader of the Autobots, Sentinel Prime!"

At this point, the camera had turned to face the red and black fire truck, which quickly transformed to reveal Sentinel Prime, who appeared to have undergone some changes since he was last seen. Overall, his basic appearance had not changed so drastically, but he was now bigger than before, and on his back was a large pack with a set of wings that were folded down at the moment, along with a pair of guns that were mounted on top and seemed to extend over his shoulders, while both of his arms seemed to carry large weapons of some kind that were currently folded back in a state of inactivity.

Despite how small these changes were, they still seemed to give the impression that Sentinel had been remade into a new and improved Autobot, though it did not change the way he spoke as he announced to the world, "Citizens of humanity, I am Sentinel Prime, and on behalf of all Autobots who have lived among you for so long, I thank all of you who have welcomed us to your world with kindness and sincerity, and allowed us to call your world our second home. While I will admit that our war has brought many new tragedies to your world, I speak for all of my kind when I say that we never intended for our struggles, our mistakes, or our enemies to be brought to yours or anyone else's world, but rest assured, we have always done what we could to keep you safe, hiding in plain sight as we did, and we will continue to do so, so long as we continue to call humanity our allies and our friends, and so long as we call the Earth our second home."

Sentinel then paused for a moment, glancing at Chairman Durandal as he did, almost as though he were asking permission for something. When Durandal nodded, Sentinel faced the camera once more and revealed, "However, even among other worlds, there have always been those who would prevent the harmony that both humanity and the Autobots seek at all costs. They've been with both your world since antiquity, and with our world since shortly after Megatron had begun his campaign. They have demanded that we all fight because of the profits and rewards that can be generated. 'You're a coward if you don't fight, and you're a traitor if you don't follow orders.' They use such words when they hand you a weapon and tell you to attack. That is what they say when they invent enemies out of nothing. The last thing they want is a world of peace."

"As much as I wish I could deny such a thing, I'm afraid that you are correct in what you say, Sentinel Prime," Durandal then said. "It is clear that these are the people who are behind this latest tragedy in Western Eurasia, and among the stars for many worlds that the Transformers may or may not know of. The organization Blue Cosmos is well known. They detest Coordinators and refer to them as dangerous mistakes who shouldn't exist, but what you don't know is that it was invented by these same types of people, who now work alongside a force that is even more despicable and terrible than the Decepticons. These individuals hide in the shadows, constantly inventing new enemies, and ensuring that war is always raging somewhere. The merchants of death, the military industrial complex. They're known as LOGOS, and they're allies are the ones who are despised by the Decepticons, and who are the disgraced of those who side with true evil, the Eradicons. These two forces are the true enemies of anyone who loves peace."

The minute he revealed this, the profile images of each of LOGOS's members and those of the Eradicons appeared on the screen, singling out multiple different world leaders, including some members of the Orb government and many others, as the two finally revealed what would be considered as the true greatest enemy of humanity, bringing shock and horror to all who saw the images. "From the bottom of my heart, I wish for a world that never again knows the scourge of war," Durandal then told the people listening.

"And I too wish for the same thing, as well as a universe where all may live together as one," Sentinel then announced. "Since LOGOS and the Eradicons continue to block such efforts, Chairman Durandal and I are taking this opportunity to announce a joint military campaign between Earth and my own forces with the specific goal of eliminating them and their members! Are you with us citizens of Earth?!"

The response that the Prime received could practically be heard all throughout Earth's solar system, as nearly the entire planet cheered in agreement and excitement for what the two leaders had announced, and began chanting both of their names as well, clearly eager to begin this campaign as soon as possible. A few hours later, the news crews that had come to broadcast the announcement and Meer had all left; leaving Sentinel and Durandal alone in the latter's office. "Congratulations are in order, Chairman," Sentinel told Durandal as the man collapsed onto a sofa with a heavy sigh of weariness. "You have finally begun to execute your campaign."

Durandal merely smiled to Sentinel as he said, "Thank you Sentinel, but I think that I will only truly deserve it when this has all ended, and the Destiny Plan has been implemented."

"Yes, of course," Sentinel agreed, but his tone seemed to indicate that he was not entirely agreeing with the chairman. "Though I am afraid that if I do not give my congratulations now, you will never receive it for your efforts."

"Pardon," Durandal asked in confusion.

"I am truly sorry about this, Gilbert, but I am afraid that you're role as you are, has come to an end," Sentinel then revealed, and he then snapped his fingers. Before Durandal could ask what Sentinel meant, a weapon firing with a silencer was sounded, and the chairman's eyes widened in shock as he suddenly felt a great pain rush through him. Durandal could only glance down for a minute before he began to collapsing further proving beyond the stain of blood that had appeared on both his shirt and jacket, that someone had just shot him, all the while Sentinel was saying, "I must admit, your Destiny Plan is actually rather similar to the caste system we once had on Cybertron, but I am afraid that it has one flaw. Humanity's role is not so greatly divided, as it only has one role in the grand scheme of things in this universe, one which I intend to ensure it fulfills."

"You…you bastard," Durandal snarled. "What are you…?"

Durandal was finally silenced by another shot to his chest, killing him instantly as he dropped dead. After a few seconds, the one who fired the shot finally stepped forward, revealing a slim, Cybertronian mech that had silver armor with dark red arms and knee guards, heels, and back pedals, platinum colored feet, and curved shoulders that held purple lines moving horizontally from the sides to the center until they tipped down to look like a "v". He also possessed both a set of thin jet wings on his back along with smaller fins on his forearms, while what appeared to be a split wheel curled into itself was hanging on the sides of his waist almost like holsters for a set of hand bracers. The most noticeable thing about this mech though, was his red eyes and the shinning Decepticon symbol on his chest, which took on the appearance of a motorcycle front, as the front wheel was on the side into his chest. As he approached Sentinel with a rather unique blaster in his hand, the Prime commented, "Impressive work **Quicksilver**. I can see why he recommended you for this job."

Quicksilver just huffed as he turned away from Sentinel saying, "Keep your compliments to yourself, Prime. I only came along to do this because my master had requested I do it. If it were up to me, there would have been a shot through your spark chamber as well."

"Now, now. There's no need for such hostility, my young apprentice," a sickeningly familiar voice then said, as the silver and dark grey form of Starscream stepped forward from the shadows as well. "After all, we can't let our ally think we would truly bring harm upon him, now can we?"

"Yes, of course. My apologies, Master Starscream," Quicksilver then said with a small bow of respect.

Starscream then turned to Sentinel and said, "Despite the fact that many of Lockdown's greatest followers still live, you have done quite well, my friend, but I hope you know that there are problems arising in your own forces, and a pair of pests that we must move quickly to eliminate."

"I do not need you to tell me or remind me of any of that, Decepticon scum," Sentinel retorted as he threw an accusing finger at the acting Decepticon leader. "I assure you, I will deal with the traitor to my forces and Orion Pax and his followers soon enough. Soon they shall all know what happens to those who cross the true Primes of Cybertron." As he said this final thing, Sentinel reached to a handle on his back, and pulled it out to reveal a new sword that looked a great deal like the Star Saber, save for some rather notable differences. The guard at the top of the hilt was now more defined and possessed a set of spikes that extended outwards from the top and bottom corners of it, while the blade itself was a radiant gold color that seemed to have veins running through it that pulsed with many colors, the most notable being the colors of a sickening green, a deep red, shinning blue, and a deep, dark, almost evil purple.

As the two Decepticons gazed at this blade, they could only smirk in anticipation for the revelations of what it was capable of, and how it would affect those that were unfortunate enough to be struck by it. They would not have to wait long, as after he gazed at the glowing, gold blade for a minute, Sentinel holstered the weapon once more, and assumed his vehicle mode before someone suddenly climbed out of it. As soon as the person's feet touched the ground Sentinel reassumed his bipedal mode and said, "You know what to do, Chairman."

The figure simply nodded, in a way that was eerily similar to how Durandal would, and then walked over to the late chairman's desk as he put out a call to the Z.A.F.T. headquarters, with an urgent message for the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_, which Sentinel was now preparing to return to, having accomplished what he needed to do here.

* * *

When the broadcast had concluded, the members of the _Archangel_-Autobots and their guest were all shocked at what had been revealed, but naturally, they were all even more worried about the fact that a good deal of the people on that list were part of the Orb government as well as the nation's most influential citizens. Though the names of some of those members did not surprise them that greatly, a prime example of this being the Seirans, the thought of what would happen to Orb as a result horrified them all, but none more so than Cagalli, and furthermore, the list went on to reveal that there did not seem to be even one country that did not have a member of LOGOS among them. This all led both Optimus and Kira to agree on what their next actions should be which led the former of the two to say, "We must return to Orb at once."

"Are you sure about that, Optimus," Cagalli asked.

"He is, and so am I," Kira answered for the Prime. "Something big is about to begin, and right now, Orb may be the place where all of the greatest conflicts will unfold, so we need to be there for when it happens. I can feel it."

"As can I, Kira," Optimus revealed. "But I can also sense that our journey will not be a swift nor easy one. As such, I believe it best, that should we encounter any opposing force on the path to the nation, only the Freedom and I should be the ones to face them."

"Optimus, that's crazy," Bumblebee argued.

"Bee's right," Jazz agreed. "If that is true, then we should have as many of us out there as possible to push them back until we can escape safely."

"No Jazz," Optimus immediately refused. "If we wish to truly make any difference in the struggles to come, we will need as many of our forces able to fight as possible." Optimus then paused for a moment before he finally revealed, "I am not making this decision as your commanding officer, nor as a Prime. I am making this decision as your friend and comrade, a decision which Kira has already given his support to."

When everyone glanced at Kira to confirm this, Kira simply nodded, and they all ended up finally relenting and giving into Optimus's request. A matter of minutes later, the two ships had lifted off to begin their trip back to Orb, while Bumblebee found a moment to speak to Optimus in private once again. "I'm not going to pretend I'm okay with this decision, Optimus," Bumblebee admitted. "But I do understand why you decided on this. All the same, at least let me go with you or Jazz or even…"

Optimus silenced Bumblebee by placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling as he said, "I truly appreciate your concern, Bumblebee, but I believe that your place is here on the ship, for you will be needed for something far more important soon enough. Just remember, to never doubt yourself." Optimus then turned to return to the bridge before he paused and looked back and added, "I also want you to know, that I have always considered you to be like a son I never had, and I thank you for that."

Bumblebee could only look on at Optimus's retreating form in shock for a few minutes, before he finally shook himself out his stupor and returned to the bridge, just in time to see that they had now reached optimal height for aerial travel. Not once though, did either ship ever detect the Z.A.F.T. surveillance unit that had spotted them taking off, and then alert the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot Forces of their current location.

* * *

Meanwhile, everyone on the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ was still reeling at the news that the chairman had just given to the world, with the only exceptions being Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka, and the members of Sentinel's inner circle, Chromia, Mirage, Scattershot, and Kup. Though some of the both ships' crews knew some of what was just revealed, it was still a shock for many of them that Durandal would reveal it to the world before announcing the beginning of this military campaign in the way he had. That all became a mute point when Meyrin informed Captain Gladys and Deputy Captain Trine of an incoming message from Fleet Headquarters, that would shock and nearly horrify them all.

"_Minerva_ and _Xanthium_ are to provide support for Operation: Omega Angel Fall, which is now commencing," Arthur revealed as he read the message from off of Meyrin's screen.

"What," Talia exclaimed. "Are you sure that's right? There must be some…"

"There is no mistake, Captain Gladys," Sentinel interrupted as he appeared before them over the usual Holo-Communicator. "It is high time that those rebels, who have now been officially listed as enemies by both Z.A.F.T. and the Autobots, were brought down. As such, I've been given full command of both ships for the duration of this operation until further notice. Is that understood?"

Talia could do nothing more than clench her fist in anger before replying, "Yes sir."

Sentinel simply nodded and then requested that Shinn prepare the Impulse for combat as soon as possible, to which Talia only nodded in reply before doing so, and then announced to the two ships, "_Minerva_, _Xanthium_! Roll out!"

* * *

**_AN: Well, there you have it. Personally, I liked what they did with making Sentinel turn traitor in Dark of the Moon, I mean, it's not all that often you see an Autobot betray the others so easily, and end up staying a bad guy right to the end, but to be honest, I felt that they kind of rushed it a bit in that movie. I mean there was really not all that much build up, and Sentinel did not really do all that much with the Autobots before it happened. He just came to Earth, had a few chats with the humans and Optimus, and then practically went and said, "Surprise, I'm evil!" I like to think I did a bit of a better job here with that myself, but I leave that for all of you to decided._**

**_Also, Quicksilver is not an actual character from the Transformers series. He is an OC, but he is also not my own, and I am not one to take credit for someone else's ideas, so please give it up for the creator of Quicksilver, and the one who was kind enough to lend him to me for this story series, "twilightnite13"! I'll be posting some more details of the character on my profile page soon enough, and I'm not entirely sure about this, but if you want some more additional information, you might be able to find something on "twilightnite"'s page as well._**

**_Speaking of Quicksilver, hey look! Starscream's back, and you know what that means. The Decepticons are rearing their ugly heads again! And just what kind of sword was Sentinel displaying? Also, for Sentinel's new look, just think of Optimus's flight-tech gear in Dark of the Moon, place it on Sentinel, and you should have an idea of what it basically looks like. Now, the questions you are now faced with will be answered in the conclusion of the first half of this story, which is next chapter, and for those of you who don't know what to expect, then I now simply say, onto the preview!..._**

**_The truth about Sentinel Prime is revealed, and the only one who truly knows it is now dead. Will this be the fate of all those who learn of this truth? As Kira and Optimus fight to defend their friends and allies in an attempt to allow the two mighty ships to escape, they find themselves facing a reluctant Impulse pilot, and a Prime who will soon reveal his true colors to both Optimus, his team, and to one who would betray him. The only question now is: will the true heroes survive the battle that has now come to them? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 16: Omega Angel Fall****_. _****Archangel_, _Omega II_, race to seas of freedom as fast as you can!_**

**_Kira: Wow, I'm not sure if I should be excited or worried._**

**_AN: I know right? You would not believe how many times I've rehearsed scenes from this next chapter in my head now._**

**_Kira: Also, I think Shinn just flew out the window._**

**_AN: Oh. Guess that last hit was a little too hard. Well, I'd better go get him. Go Go Gadget Helicopter Hat! [Helicopter hat activates and AN lifts off]. Oh, before I forget..._**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**

**_[AN flies out of building to retrieve Shinn with one small problem] WHOA! HOW DO YOU STEER THIS THING?!_**


	16. Omega Angel Fall

_**AN: Wow I cannot believe how quickly I got this chapter out, or how short it seems to be for that matter, but onto more important matters. In case it is not clear at this point, Sentinel Prime's inner circle consists of five Autobots, counting Sentinel himself, and when I put them together, I wanted it be like a dark reflection of the five 'Bots who were featured as the main cast of Transformers: Prime for a majority of the series. To put it simply, they are what I believe would be the Team Sentinel version of the big five from Team Optimus Prime.**_

_**The actual line-up is as follows: Where on Team Optimus you would normally have Optimus Prime, Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Ratchet, on Team Sentinel you have Sentinel Prime, Chromia, Mirage, Scattershot, and Kup. You get that now? Okay good, and just so we're clear, I will be making it very clear as to how the **_**Xanthium_ team feels about the whole thing Sentinel is doing in this chapter._**

**_Now some of you have been saying things to me about sparing certain characters of Team Sentinel, and after getting so many of such reviews, and then deleting them after a while, I am going to be straight up with you all and ask one simple question. When the hell did I ever say anything about killing off all the members of Team Sentinel? I am telling you right now, only two members of Sentinel's team will die in this story, and one of them will die in this chapter. None of the others are going to die, I mean sheesh, don't be so quick to think I'm putting them to the firing squad. As for what actually happens to them, you'll just have to wait and find out when we get to the chapter where I actually explain that._**

**_Well now that all that is said and done, and since I'm still in an Inspector Gadget kind of mood, Go Go Gadget disclaimer._**

**_I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Omega Angel Fall**

When word had gotten around the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ about Operation: Omega Angel Fall, naturally everyone was either confused or upset. They understood that Sentinel had declared the Autobots of Team Optimus as traitors to the Cybertronian army, but after what they had heard the chairman announce to the world, they were all more than confused as to how this operation tied into that goal. While the _Xanthium_ Autobots did not really complain for all that long, it was only because they felt that they knew how Sentinel operated and they normally trusted his judgment, leading them to believe that if Sentinel was following through with this plan, then there must have been a good reason for it. Of course, the exceptions to this were the members of Sentinel's inner circle, but that was only due to the fact that they actually knew the truth.

While the matter seemed to be somewhat closed on the _Xanthium_, though, it was a different story completely on the _Minerva_, as evidenced by the fact that a very angry Athrun Zala was meeting with Talia Gladys right at that moment. "The chairman's speech was about how we were going after LOGOS," Athrun practically shouted. "How does that translate into us attacking the_Archangel_ and the _Omega II_? This _order_ doesn't make any sense! You must contact headquarters again…"

"I already checked with them to confirm," Talia shouted as she jumped up from her seat. "But they just repeated the order. Refusing to declare their intentions, the _Archangel_, the _Omega II_, the Freedom, and the Autobot rebels have continued to bring confusion to the battlefield and escalate the conflict. Considering the current situation, they represent a threat that can no longer be ignored, and must be eliminated. This is the decision made by both our nation and Sentinel Prime, and of course, Sentinel himself has been given full command of the operation as well, so even if I wanted to protest against this, I couldn't."

"But Captain," Athrun started to say.

"There's nothing more we can do about it," Talia interrupted. "The operation is already well underway, and like I said, Sentinel is the one commanding the operation now, and I doubt he would want to hear any protests we may have."

Athrun just gave the _Minerva_ captain a small glare in both shock and disappointment before he turned around and began to storm out of the room until the captain added, "You need to learn how to look past your bias, Athrun. I can understand you not wanting to fight your former comrades, but look, situations and people's feelings change overtime."

"Speaking from personal experience, _Captain_," Athrun spat in response, putting Talia into a mild amount of shock at the way he had said it, and how right his guess actually was. Before Talia could say anymore, Athrun had already stormed out of the room. Talia was about to chase after him to tell him off, when she received word that they had a feed from their allies who were already onsite and that they were about to enter the area.

Talia then just grabbed her captain's hat and began to make her way to the bridge. As soon as she was in the hallway, she spotted Athrun a short ways down the hall, and added, "If you don't want to watch, then you might as well stay in your cabin, but against those ships, we're going to need a heroic effort."

Athrun then spun around and retorted, "I didn't realize that 'heroic effort' suddenly meant showing signs of ungratefulness. I mean, it's not like the people we're attacking helped save the world or anything…oh, wait, they did."

Talia would have said something in retort to that as well, but by the time she had turned to face Athrun again, he had already vanished around the corner, so she elected to just sigh and move on to her place on her ship's bridge. Of course, thinking of her ship made her wonder if it really was her ship at the moment since Sentinel seemed to be calling all the shots today.

* * *

Athrun had ended up storming into the pilots' ready room, where the other _Minerva_ pilots were already gathered, with only Shinn having suited up for action, given that his machine was the only one that was able to be ready for action. One glance at Athrun told Yzak and Dearka that his meeting with captain did not go well, but still went as expected, but they were quick to file this away for later as Athrun moved to sit down next to Shinn. The crimson eyed pilot gave a few wary glances at Athrun for a minute until he finally asked, "Are you okay?"

Athrun glanced at Shinn before he asked, "Do you want an honest answer, or do you want me to lie to you?"

Shinn stared at Athrun before he finally chuckled in reply as he said, "Right, stupid question." The two just sat there in silence for another minute, waiting for the call for Shinn to board his machine, until Shinn finally asked, "So, do you think I can do it? Defeat the Freedom, I mean?"

Athrun knew that Shinn was asking him if the young pilot could beat the Freedom without ending the pilot's life, and he would have liked to have said yes, but given that Rey seemed to be watching them like a hawk at the moment, Athrun could only say, "There's a chance you can. Just do your best, and I'm sure things will be fine."

Shinn nodded and it was at that exact moment that they heard Meyrin send out word that it was time for them to begin. As he moved to the door though, Shinn glanced back at Athrun once more, throwing him an apologetic look, to which Athrun only nodded in response to.

* * *

During this time, the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ were doing their best to escape from the Z.A.F.T. ambush they had encountered only a mere few hours ago, but luckily they were able to avoid destruction once again, despite the fact that the enemy consisted of both Z.A.F.T. mobile suits and Autobot drones, and that only the Freedom and Optimus were defending the two ships, a fact that still did not sit well with most of them. Of course, Murrue and Elita's refusal to fight back against their aggressors did not help many people's opinion, until Natarle reminded those same people that Kira, Optimus, and the two acting captains of the ships were certain that their current enemies probably wanted them to fight back so that they would have more of an excuse to try and destroy them. It was not a fact that sat well with many of them, but it was one that they still had to begrudgingly accept regardless.

Soon enough, they were clear of the forces that had targeted them before, and as Kira flew alongside the _Archangel_, and Optimus raced across the snowy ground bellow the _Omega II_ in his vehicle mode, everyone began to feel that they were finally through the worst. They did not realize how wrong they were until a series of explosions went off ahead of their ships, and their sensors all suddenly went dark. "They're using jamming shells," Natarle exclaimed. "_Omega II_, what's your status?"

"They must have been of Cybertronian caliber or something, because we're in the same boat over here as well," Air Raid replied.

"Ten to port. Take us down," Murrue immediately ordered in response to this recent development.

"Match the _Archangel_'s course, but take us up so that we can cover them from above," Elita then ordered Jetfire.

It seemed that barely even a few seconds had passed before both ships were attacked once again, and Kira and Optimus were both forced to do everything they could to avoid the missiles that had flown in their direction, despite the fact that the former was in SEED Burst mode, and the latter was in his vehicle mode. When one explosion caused him to be sent flying off his wheels and into the air, Optimus immediately transformed to his bipedal mode and armed his default blasters once more, right when Kira shouted out, "Optimus, we've got more incoming! It's Sentinel and the Impulse!"

Optimus spun to see that Kira was correct in what he said, for both the Gundam and the treacherous Prime were flying towards their position at top speed with the former firing his beam rifle and the latter firing a large machine gun that extended from his left arm. The two were quick to respond, as the Freedom blasted into the air, and returned fire with its own rifle as he blocked the Impulse's shots with his shield, and Optimus simply leaped aside and whipped out his Battle Axe as he spun it around and deflected a majority of Sentinel's shots. As the two pairs continued to fight against each other, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ appeared before the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_, and then opened fire on both ships. Thinking quickly, Newmann and Jetfire were able to steer their ships clear of the attacks with a hard turn that also allowed them to sail past the opposing ships with little difficulty. With the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot ships now at their backs, the _Archangel_and _Omega II_ were quick to fire what could easily be considered as warning shots that were meant to say back off without hitting the ships. After just cruising along for a minute without either ship attacking the other beyond their deployed mobile suit and Autobot warriors, something surprising to both Sentinel and the _Archangel_-Autobots happened.

_"This is the captain of the _Minerva_ speaking, Talia Gladys,"_ Talia called out to the two ships over the international rescue channel. _"_Archangel_, _Omega II_, do you read me? Our orders are clear. Headquarters has assigned our ships the task of destroying the _Archangel_ and the rebel Autobot ship, _Omega II_, along with its forces. However, if your ships, mobile suit, and Autobot soldier now cease all combat operations and surrender, we will likewise halt our attack. This is your only warning. We will not respond to any further proposals. I guarantee the safety of your crews. I trust you will make the wise decision. Gladys out."_

Sentinel only snarled when he heard Talia's communiqué, and immediately took his frustration out on the battle before him as he blasted towards Optimus's position, swinging his double bladed sword at Optimus as he did. Optimus was quick to intercept and parry the blow with his Battle Axe, and then followed up with a slash across Sentinel's chest along with a hard kick, finishing up with a downwards swing of his axe that cleaved Sentinel's sword in two. As he continued to fight on, Optimus heard Kira tell the _Archangel_ to keep going and that the only thing that mattered was getting Cagalli safely to Orb, and in response to this, Optimus told the _Omega II_, "Keep going, Autobots! We must ensure that our own forces reach Orb as well! Sentinel and his forces must be stopped no matter the cost!"

After a few moments of hesitation, the _Omega II_ sent an affirmative reply to Optimus's orders, and he immediately brought his attention back to the battle at hand by opening fire on Sentinel with his blasters, while Sentinel kept some distance between them with his flight-tech modulator, giving Optimus a hard time targeting his former friend, let alone hitting him. While this went on, Optimus and Sentinel both overheard another communication between the two human ships, but this time coming from the one that sided with Optimus.

_"This is Murrue Ramius. I'm the captain of the _Archangel_, and I am speaking on behalf of both my own ship and that of the _Omega II_. We truly appreciate your generous offer. Thank you, but regretfully, it is an offer that we simply cannot accept. Our ships still have work to do. Between the Alliance and the PLANTs, along with the forces of the _Xanthium_ and all others who answer to Sentinel Prime, and those of the Eradicons. The world is once again split into two separate camps, and perhaps we seem like merely another meddling faction; however, that is precisely why we cannot afford to disappear at this time. Furthermore, we have very serious doubts about Sentinel Prime and his true goals, and that is why we will not ever be able to trust him or anyone who sides with him without good reason. I hope you will allow us to take our leave from the battle."_

Just before Murrue closed the line, Natarle stood up so that she could add, _"To paraphrase something that Captain Ramius once told me when I was on the wrong side, No surrender, no joining up with Sentinel Prime and his team or Z.A.F.T., and no giving up on the things that we're fighting for! We won't stop until we've secured the true path to peace that Sentinel and so many others are trying to keep the world from."_

A few minutes after Murrue had ended her transmission though, the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot attack force from before had resumed their efforts against the two ships in an attempt to do the job that the_Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ had been sent to do. When Kira saw that the two ships were being brutally assaulted, he immediately turned to head back and defend them, only to be intercepted by the Impulse. Kira then brought nearly his full attention to the combining Gundam, just as Shinn entered SEED Burst mode willingly for the first time in his life. The battle between the two Gundams immediately heated up to intense levels, as both of them launched attack after attack against each other, the only difference was that while Shinn was able to score a few hits on the Freedom, none of Kira's shots seem to hit the Impulse once, as it simply moved aside with little effort like it was anticipating his attacks.

_This guy is good_, Kira thought to himself as he fired a shot at the arm holding the Impulse's beam rifle, only for Shinn to raise it slightly in order to avoid it. The Impulse then threw its shield at Kira and fired a single shot that rebounded off the shield and actually grazed the Freedom's shoulder armor. Despite the circumstances, Kira was very impressed and actually enjoying himself a little, given that it had been a long time since anyone besides Athrun could give him this much of a run for his money, and apparently the feeling was shared, as he heard Shinn call out to him, "You know, I've always wanted to face you in battle because people had often compared my piloting skills to you, and I wanted to see just how accurate those comparisons were, but I never wanted it to be like this! Please, just surrender, and we might be able to work something out!"

Kira lowered his head in sadness before he finally replied, "Believe me, I actually wouldn't mind fighting you in better circumstances, and if we ever got the chance, I'd like to face off with you again, but right now, I can't surrender, and I doubt that anything you do will make much difference. Don't you see that Sentinel is just using both you and Z.A.F.T. for his own gain?"

Shinn seemed to hesitate for a minute, which cost him the Impulse's head and left arm, but even as he retaliated by sending his backpack directly into the Freedom and then blowing it up with the Core Splendor's guns, he could not help but wonder just what the Freedom pilot meant when he said that. Kira found himself having a difficult time recovering from the explosion that the Force Silhouette pack had caused when Shinn had blown it up, and by the time he had re-stabilized himself, the Impulse had already re-equipped a new Force Silhouette and torso in the place of the two previously destroyed ones, adding further evidence that the battle was not likely to get any easier anytime soon.

This fact proved to be further reinforced when Optimus was finally forced to draw the Star Saber against Sentinel, for all the good that it did, as Optimus could not get close enough to Sentinel to him nor even land a blow on Sentinel, due to the _Xanthium_ captain's modulator allowing him to fly higher and faster than Optimus's jetpack could carry him. Eventually, Sentinel had flown up and slammed his shield into Optimus, and caused him to fall down to the ground. As Optimus tried to rise, Sentinel suddenly landed and then pinned the keeper of the Matrix beneath his foot while raising his left gun to Optimus's head, but just as he was about to fire, a missile suddenly struck Sentinel in the side and knocked him off of Optimus.

The two Primes both spun to the source to find Tracks standing above them with his blasters armed and his shoulder missile cannon primed, as the now former tactical officer of the _Xanthium_raced down to them, firing on Sentinel as he went. The minute he was next to Optimus, Tracks glanced over to him and said, "You've got to get out of here now! I'll try to hold him back as long as I can!"

"No, I will not leave you to face him alone," Optimus refused as he stood up and raised the Star Saber once more.

"Don't you get it," Tracks shouted. "You're the biggest threat to Sentinel's plans, and Sentinel himself is the key to everything!"

"Indeed I am," Sentinel confirmed as he stood up and opened a comm. channel to all the Autobots, not knowing that he had also opened one to the two human ships that both Autobot teams fought alongside of as well. "You see my Autobots, we were never meant to win the war, and our planet was always doomed to perish. Knowing this, my team and I transported the Iacon relics and the miniaturized Space Bridge generator off world so that we may rebuild a new one day, but before we left, in order to ensure our survival, a deal was struck…with Megatron!"

The minute he had revealed that, Tracks let out a cry of anger and charged in, ready to die if it meant taking Sentinel down with him, neither of them knowing that Sentinel had revealed his true colors to the _Minerva_ and the _Archangel_ as well, but as soon as Tracks was in range of him, Sentinel merely knocked him aside and then pulled out his new, golden blade, which began glowing right as he stabbed Tracks through his chest. "You are relieved of duty, traitor," Sentinel then said in a menacing tone just as the light left Tracks's optics.

Sentinel then removed his blade from Tracks and turned to face Optimus, finding that his former friend's optics were wide with both shock and furry as he gazed at both Tracks and the blade that Sentinel held. "What have you done, Sentinel," Optimus demanded.

"I suspected that the sword of Prima may no longer serve me when I revealed my true intentions at last, given how you and your followers had seemed to have corrupted it, Orion," Sentinel explained as he raised the glowing gold sword up to show it off. "As such, I spent months using the Forge of Solus Prime and every form of energon ever known to our kind to fashion a new blade that would only be worthy of a true Prime such as myself. This is the sword that shall usher in a new age for all Transformers as we take our rightful place in the universe back, and it shall also be the weapon of your destruction, Orion. Gaze upon its might, and behold, the Energon Saber!"

Optimus simply glared at the sword that his former friend held along with the one wielding it as the blade radiated with what was clearly energon, and as the weapon continued to do so, Optimus could feel every bit of energon ever known suddenly stir around him. All forms of energon from the basic form, to red energon, to Tox-En, to even dark energon, and from all of those feelings that he was sensing alone, Optimus could tell that this was a weapon that was far too powerful and too dangerous to have ever existed in the first place. With this in mind, Optimus merely brought his blade up and assumed a ready stance, issuing a silent challenge to Sentinel as he did.

Sentinel smirked upon seeing this, and he then assumed his own stance as he declared, "We were once like gods, Orion. You could've been one again, but you decided to favor the humans over your own kind. That was a mistake that I assure you I will not make."

"You were one of those who taught me that freedom was the right of all sentient beings," Optimus reminded his former friend and predecessor. "That right extends just as much to humanity as it does to our own kind, and I will give my life to defend that so long as you stand against me."

"Then by all means, Optimus," Sentinel beckoned. "Come and show me just how powerful that belief of your truly is."

This was the moment that began the epic struggle between Primes, a struggle that had not once been seen since the fall of the original thirteen Primes, and a battle that would determine the fate of the universe, the Earth, and of two Autobot teams.

* * *

As the battle between Kira and Shinn continued along with the battle between Optimus and Sentinel, the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ were continuing to struggle to make it to the sea so that they could make their escape. Of course they were extremely grateful that the _Minerva_ had stayed out of things for the moment, but the fact that the _Xanthium_ seemed rather eager to end the two ships, despite what they had all just heard Sentinel admit, made that bit of good fortune matter very little. Despite this, the two ships and their crews continued to persevere through the storm of beams, missiles, and energon that bombarded them, and soon enough they received some somewhat welcoming news from Newmann.

"Distance to the coast, ten," the helmsman reported, though they wished that it was closer.

"We're not going to make it at this rate," Jazz then shouted. "We have to send out the Murasames and the Wreckers!"

"Belay that," Elita shouted. "We can't risk losing any forces or the enemy using any attempt at fighting to back as an excuse to really take us out! Stay on course, and keep going!"

Reluctantly, everyone complied with the orders that Elita gave, which were soon echoed by Murrue, but that did not make their situation any easier, and when they saw the Freedom lose one of its wings in an explosion during its battle with the Impulse, their worries increased tremendously. The fact that massive explosions of energy erupted every time Optimus and Sentinel clashed the Star Saber and Energon Saber against each other was not anymore encouraging, as the Autobots could all feel some of the energon that Sentinel's weapon was comprised of seeping off the blade and seemingly covering the entire battlefield, almost as though the many different forms of energon were blanketing the planet, and while the sword Sentinel wielded was composed of some good forms of energon, it did not stop the negatively affecting forms from seeping out and seeming to claw into their systems and skins.

Soon enough though, the two ships were finally at the coast and began preparations for underwater travel, knowing that they would be able to escape if they could just submerge themselves beneath the sea. Though the fact that Kira and Optimus had not returned strengthened everyone's worries for them, right to the point where Cagalli and Bumblebee could no longer stand just sitting around waiting for them. "Get the Rouge ready. I'm heading out," Cagalli demanded.

"Ready my jetpack as well, along with an energy shield," Bumblebee then requested. "I'm going after Optimus."

"Both of you sit down," Murrue, Natarle, and Elita all shouted at the two. Murrue then told Cagalli, "I know you're worried about Kira, but right now the best way for you to help him is to make sure that you get out of this battle alive."

Cagalli just nodded in defeat and sat back down like she was told, but Bumblebee on the other hand was not so willing to cooperate. "I'm not just going to sit here and pray that Optimus doesn't get killed out there! Do you want to just leave him like that, Elita?!"

"That is enough, Bumblebee," Elita shouted, and to everyone's shock, she slapped Bumblebee across the face, _hard_. When Bumblebee rose up from the deck, he was ready to shout right back at Elita, but stopped short when he saw that Elita had tears in her eyes, even as she angrily told the scout, "Do you think I _want_ to do this?! Optimus is my sparkmate, and if it were up to me, I would be out there with him right now, but I know that if Optimus wanted us here, it was because he felt that we would be in more danger if we tried to help him than we would be staying here!"

Bumblebee just stared at Elita for a minute before he hung his head in sadness and moved to his pedes while saying, "I'm sorry, Elita. I was out of line when I said that, but Optimus is like a father to me, something I never really had growing up, even before the war for Cybertron. That's why I hate just…"

Bumblebee could not bring himself to finish, and even though the ship was shaking under the force of explosions around them, Arcee and Elita were both quick to either wrap the scout in a hug or place a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, while the latter of the two femme could only say, "I know, Bee. I know."

The moment was quickly interrupted when they began to descend into the water with the _Archangel_, and the three had to quickly return to their posts. Just as the two ships were nearly half way under, Ironhide detected a horrifying signal that meant serious trouble for the ships if they did not make it in time. "The _Minerva_ is preparing to fire its Positron Cannon at the _Archangel_, and the_Xanthium_ is about to fire their main guns at us!"

Everyone was horrified by this news, and the two ships' helmsmen were quick to try and speed up their descent under the water as both acting captains ordered the crews to brace for impact. It was not a minute later that the main guns of the Z.A.F.T. and Autobot ships had fired on them, and resulted in a massive explosion that shook the entire surrounding area of the Earth.

* * *

Optimus had just noticed the situation the ships were in as he parried a blow from Sentinel's Energon Saber, but his moment of distraction proved to be the first error, and allowed Sentinel to knock Optimus's pedes out from under him. Sentinel then brought his Energon Saber down in an attempt to slice Optimus in half, and when Optimus raised the Star Saber to block the attack, a horrible sight ended up being the result. The two blades collided with each other for merely a minute until finally, much to Optimus's horror, the Star Saber shattered apart, leaving him disoriented as the blade pieces fell to the ground around him, and his arm continued in its upward motion with the hilt of the mighty blade in hand.

Sentinel had no intention of letting Optimus off there, and immediately swung his left gun into Optimus's back before arming all the weapons on his flight-tech modulator. Seeing as Optimus was practically in point blank range, Sentinel wasted no time in firing on the red and blue leader of the _Omega II_, causing Optimus to thrash around wildly under the intensity of the barrage, right up until he dropped what remained of the Star Saber that was still in his hands to the ground, collapsing to the ground himself soon after. Optimus tried to rise in vain, but the minute he was so much as propped up on his elbows, Sentinel simply raised the Energon Saber and unleashed a burst of energy at Optimus that knocked him closer to the edge of the cliff they stood upon. This action was followed up with four more swings of the sword with the same results, until finally, Optimus's left half was hanging limply off the edge of the cliff, and he showed no signs of being able to pull himself back.

Sentinel merely strode up to where Optimus was now lying, and when he saw Optimus turn to meet his gaze, the treacherous Prime merely raised his blade once again and said, "This war that tore our kind apart could all have been avoided had you and your gladiator brother never contacted each other. In fact, perhaps it would have been better had neither of you ever existed, but it seems that we shall never know. Be sure to give your _brother_ a reasonable greeting when you see him again in the Pits, because I can assure you, neither one of you will ever be joining the AllSpark."

Having said what he wanted to, Sentinel brought his blade down once again, striking Optimus directly in the center of his back. The moment Optimus's cries of pain and struggling had ceased, Sentinel merely kicked Optimus off of the cliff, and watched as Optimus tumbled down the rocky, snow covered terrain, into the sea bellow. As Optimus Prime continued to fall, anyone watching this sight could almost feel their hopes and dreams for the world that Optimus had fought so hard for falling right along with him, almost to the point where it seemed like the dream may have been dying with every minute that Optimus was falling.

This feeling would have been further enforced, as the moment Optimus hit the water bellow, Sentinel Prime declared, "So ends the legacy of Orion Pax, the false Prime."

* * *

Kira had seen the explosion from the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_ at the same moment that Optimus had, but the thing that had really set him off, was the sight of Optimus being brought down by Sentinel in the way that he was. Kira could not believe his eyes. Optimus Prime had actually been defeated, and from where he was, it seemed to Kira that he might actually have fallen in his final battle. Kira could already feel tears beginning to sting his eyes, when his proximity alarm suddenly brought him back to his own situation at hand, and he was forced dodge a barrage of beam blasts from the Impulse. "This guys' definitely persistent, I've gotta give him that," Kira muttered as he raised the Freedom's beam rifle. Just before he could fire though, one shot from the Impulse sailed right through the weapon, and forced Kira to discard it before it blew up in his mobile suit's hand.

Seeing that he now had no other option, Kira spun around and began to push the Freedom back in a full retreat to where he hoped that the _Archangel_ was. He had wanted to move towards Optimus's location, but with Sentinel still there, Kira knew that he would either be forced back into a battle with the Impulse, or just end up allowing his emotions at what he had just seen the Autobot traitor do to Optimus take over. Either way, Kira would have been torn apart in that situation. Sadly, Kira did not get very far, as he soon had to spin around once more in an attempt to block an attack from the Impulse with his shield, and was then thrown off balance when the beam boomerang that Shinn had pulled from the Sword Silhouette, which had not equipped to his machine.

The Silhouette flyer then detached one of the Anti-ship swords into the Impulse's hands, and Shinn immediately charged in, thinking for sure that charging at the Freedom in the way he was would cause Kira to try and swerve out of the way, allowing him to strike a critical area on the suit, and damage it enough for it to be disabled beyond repair. To Shinn's shock and fear though, Kira did not make an attempt to dodge, but instead just raised the Freedom's shield in front him, showing that he was going to try and block the attack.

_No, don't do that! You won't be able to block this,_ Shinn thought in a panic, and he immediately began trying to pull back on his controls in an attempt to stop his attack, but during his moment of panic, something had caused the Impulse to be stuck on its current trajectory, and made Shinn's attempts to stop receive no response, "No, wait! Please stop! Come on Impulse, don't keep going! I need you to stop! PLEASE STOP IMPULSE!"

By the time Shinn finally got a response from his Gundam, it was too late, for the sword had already run right through the Freedom's shield, and through its torso, just barely missing the cockpit, but damaging the suit just enough to cause it to not matter. Both Gundam pilots could only look on in horror at what had just happened, until Kira was able to shake himself out of it long enough to push the Impulse away before it was caught in the blast of the explosion that erupted from the Freedom mere seconds later. Shinn could only look on and tremble in horror, until he raised his trembling hands up in front of him and whispered, "Dear God…what have I done?"

Somehow, Shinn's cries of horror and despair rang out so loudly that everyone in the area, and perhaps even all across Central Eurasia could hear him, and not help but feel his sorrow.

* * *

While he did hear Shinn's cries of despair from the _Minerva_ along with the other pilots, Athrun was barely able to register that anymore than he was able to register that Lunamaria was softly crying into Dearka's shoulder for the agony that she could somehow sense Shinn was feeling. He continued to look on in horror, until finally he found that all he could say in response was just simply, "Kira…Optimus…KIRA!"

Athrun's own cries of despair rang out through the ship, and were soon followed by an explosion that originated from the last known position of the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_. Though Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka feared the worst for a minute, a quick glance at the wrist devices they wore that would be able to tell them if the signal that was sent to them from both ships ever went silent showed that the ships were still active. Even though they wanted to express joy for this, they still had to keep up appearances, and as a result, Athrun simply fell to his knees in apparent sorrow, letting a few tears fall as he did.

During that time, the _Xanthium_ crew were horrified at what they had just heard Sentinel admit, what their leader had done to their comrade Tracks a moment after he did, and of what they had just witnessed happen to Optimus and his team. The only exception to this was the remaining four members of Sentinel's inner circle, and upon seeing this, Crosshairs spun towards them with his pistols out as he shouted, "YOU KNEW! You damn fraggers knew all along that Sentinel was leading us in a betrayal of all Autobots, and you knew that something like this would happen!"

The response to Crosshairs's sudden outburst was Drift trying to hold him back from doing something he would regret, while Scattershot merely aimed his own guns at his fellow Wreckers, which led to nearly everyone of the _Xanthium_ raising their weapons at one party or the other. Though it was clear to see that Chromia, Mirage, Scattershot, and Kup were outnumbered by the time all weapons were raised, not one of the four seemed to show any sign of being worried. This was made clear when Mirage simply said, "I would advise you all to consider your actions carefully. While Senior Sentinel did make a deal with Megatron, it was for the good of Cybertron, and that is exactly what we Autobots fight for."

"He's right," Kup immediately added in. "Things may not have been perfect back in the day, but they were sure a lot better than they were after Orion Pax began that whole war with his and Megatron's talks of a better Cybertron where all lived equally and freely. What Sentinel's doing is going to make things right again, and if that means making a deal with devils, then he will take that chance. It's all for Cybertron, which is exactly what we'd been fighting for, and what we're still fighting for."

"Plus, there's also the final fate that Tracks ended up facing to consider," Scattershot then reminded them. "Traitors will never be tolerated, so if any of you want to end up the same way as him, by all means, keep your weapons trained on us. Better yet, go ahead and shoot us. I'm sure Sentinel will understand you ending a superior officer in a moment of anger and not consider you as traitors as well, but then again…"

When Scattershot left that hanging, everyone immediately began to feel nervous. As a result, the Protectobots ended up being the first to stand down, since it was in their nature to follow orders so diligently. Blaster and Blur were the next to follow, with Springer doing the same only a few seconds later, all three of which only doing so out of fear for their existence. After glaring into Scattershot's face for another few minutes and seeing how dangerously serious his threat was, Crosshairs and Drift also ended up standing down, and everyone quickly returned to their posts. The only one who had not reacted at any point during all of this was Smokescreen, as both the events of the previous battle and what had just unfolded on the bridge was far too much for the young 'Bot to handle beyond simply staring in shock at what was happening.

A minute later, Chromia finally snapped Smokescreen back to his senses, and as he went back to work at his post, Smokescreen could just tell that it may have been time to consider other options, and also following Tracks's advice on the actions he should take after something like this had happened.

* * *

What no one on either of the two ships of the Z.A.F.T.-Autobots knew was that the _Archangel_ and the _Omega II_ had actually survived the attacks from the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_, but ended up taking some heavy damage in the process. Even so, they were still in just enough pieces to continue on their way after jettisoning an engine from both ships and blowing them up in an attempt to make their enemy believe that they had been sunk. While they did that, Cagalli and Wing Saber had launched from the two ships so that they could each retrieve what remained of the Freedom along with Optimus.

The minute Cagalli saw what was left of the Freedom, she could feel tears beginning to sting her eyes, for all that remained of the mighty Gundam was its torso and head, but she could still detect a life sign in the cockpit, which was proof enough for her that Kira was still alive. Upon further inspection, her instruments also indicated that there was no sign of an active energon reading coming from the Freedom, which meant that Kira must have been able to engage the emergency shut down on the Energon Reactor Core before there was a chance of it blowing up. Knowing that kind of thing did not matter at the moment, Cagalli just maneuvered the Strike Rouge to grab hold of the remains of the Freedom and begin to return to the two ships.

Just as she was about to call out and say that she was returning with Kira and that he likely needed medical attention, she heard Wing Saber call out, "Ratchet, prep the medical bay, fast! Optimus needs major medical treatment fast!"

The minute she and the others heard that, Cagalli could feel tears stinging her eyes again, and she could tell that the same could be said for everyone else as well, because Wing Saber's tone was all the indication they needed that something was very seriously wrong with Optimus, and it would likely lead to news that none of them wanted to hear.

* * *

After he returned to the _Minerva_, Shinn was hoping that he could just be allowed to go to his quarters and lament on his actions in peace, but unfortunately he had no such luck. The minute he was out of his cockpit and standing on the deck, the workers and his fellow pilots were all around him, save for Athrun who was standing off on the side with Dearka and Yzak, and throwing out congratulations on a job well done. While Lunamaria and Heine were the exception to these jubilant cheers and were instead throwing him worried looks of concern, Shinn could not take the way everyone was greeting and praising him, which ultimately led him to finally say, "Just stop it."

When they heard him say that, everyone paused in surprise, thinking that Shinn would have enjoyed such a hero's welcome. They were further proved wrong when he began to glare at them all and cry out, "I just killed someone who risked his life to save our world. More importantly, I helped to destroy the first Autobots who came to Earth, the same 'Bots that risked everything to save us all from Megatron and the Decepticons, and you all think that because I had a hand in that while ending a hero's life is reason to give me some damn congratulations?! They were heroes, and we show our damn gratitude by destroying them!"

"Shinn, they were enemies," Rey suddenly cut in, stopping Shinn's rant short and getting the crimson eyed pilot's glare aimed directly at him. "I know this is hard to believe, but if command decides that they are enemies, and that they need to be dealt with, then that's that. There's nothing more that we can…"

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP, REY," Shinn shouted, and he then did something that none of them had ever expected him to do. Shinn Asuka actually hit his best friend, Rey Za Burrel. Shinn and Rey could only look at each other in both shock and horror, until Rey finally broke his gaze away and stood up, dusting himself off and then leaving without giving Shinn a chance to apologize for what he had just done, even though Shinn still felt that he was justified in what he did.

Shinn just sadly watched Rey go for another minute before he turned to walk over to one person that he absolutely needed to speak to right then and there. The minute he had reached him, Shinn simply stood there and said, "Go ahead, Athrun. Hit me."

Athrun was just about to walk out of the hangar himself when he heard what Shinn had said, and he immediately spun around to see Shinn just standing there with his arms open, practically welcoming any attack Athrun would throw at him. When he did not do anything, Shinn then told Athrun, "I just killed your best friend, and helped to end the life of some of your former comrades and friends. I deserve whatever beating you think I need to get."

Athrun only looked at Shinn with a nearly unreadable expression for another few minutes before he finally turned fully around to face him and say, "If you're willing to give up that easily after one mistake, then you're not even close to being worth it." Shinn's stunned expression was all the indication Athrun needed to continue in order to clear up the confusion that his statement had caused the young pilot, and he then explained, "You want to be a protector, then don't give up trying to fight for what you think is right and worth protecting just because you made a mistake. Optimus, Bulkhead, Kira, and all the others never did, and if you want to be anything like them like you had told me and Cagalli you had wanted to be, then don't give up trying to be a protector, because otherwise, you'll just be a coward who's no better than the 'Cons."

Athrun then moved to leave once again, feeling Shinn's shocked and confused stare on his back as he went, until Shinn stopped him once more when he asked, "Was I really doing the right thing? I need to know, did I do the right thing by going out there and fighting today? Please, you have to tell me."

Athrun could hear how desperate Shinn was for an answer to this question, but sadly, the only response he could give him was to say, "I can't answer that. I won't act like I'm okay with what this mission's purpose was or how it ended, but whether or not you going out there instead of someone else was really the right thing, is something only you can answer. I'm sorry."

Shinn could only stare at Athrun as he left the hangar at last, now feeling more confused than ever before, and wondering if he was really still in the right to continue fighting alongside Sentinel after hearing what the Prime had confessed to.

* * *

**_AN: Well there you have it. Things are looking rather grim for our heroes, and we have now basically reached what some would consider the point that is like Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back. Next chapter, the focus of heroes will officially be shifting over to Kira and his group while still telling of the exploits of Shinn and his group so as to show that not everything is going to be focused on them. Plus, the next chapter will also be the beginning of the first half, which grant you all this story series big debut of a certain group of characters that you all have been waiting for. In the meantime though, and before we get to the preview, I have to say...Go Go Gadget First half ending theme music._**

* * *

**Transformers!**

**[Shows moments that have taken place so far in the story while also showing images of Shinn, Athrun, and the rest of the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot members. Just use your imagination to think of images beyond this point unless something says otherwise]**

**Something evil's watching over you. Coming from the sky above, and there's nothing you can do. Prepare to strike, there'll be no place to run...When you're caught within the grip of the evil Eradicons!**

**Transformers! ****More than meets the eye.**

**Transformers! Robots in disguise.**

**Strong enough to break the bravest heart. So we have to pull together, and we can't stay worlds apart. Cause stand divided we will surely fall. Until our darkest hour when the light will save us all!**

**Transformers! More than meets the eye.**

**Transformers! Robots in disguise.**

**Transformers! Gundam pilot allies.**

**Transformers!**

**Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of...the Eradicons.**

**Transformeeeeeerrrrrrs. Transform!**

**[Montage of epic moments of Shinn, Athrun, Heine, Yzak, Dearka, Rey, Lunamaria, and their respective Autobot Guardians from Team Sentinel]**

**It's judgement day and now we've made our stand. And for now the powers of darkness have been driven from our land. The battle's over, but the war has just begun. For this way it will remain till the day when all are one!**

**Transformers! More than meets the eye.**

**Transformers! Gundam pilot allies.**

**Transformers! Robots in disguise.**

**Transformers! Defenders of all lives.**

**Transformers! More than meets the eye.**

**[Shows the Z.A.F.T. pilots, their mobile suits/Gundams, and their Autobot guardians coming out of a Ground Bridge and prepping for battle, finishing with the Impulse and Sentinel Prime]**

**Transformers!**

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed that, now I can say, Onto the preview!...**_

**_The _****Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ arrive in Gibraltar as the world erupts into chaos around them with the revelation of LOGOS and their alliance with Eradicons, leaving one to wonder just what other events of this revelation have been set into motion? When Athrun and Shinn are shown the new mobile suits that they will be piloting, Athrun realizes that the time for him to return to his true allies is finally upon him, and in the process he picks up a pair of additional runaways, one Autobot, and one human. As the three of them attempt to flee, they soon find themselves on a mission to ensure that certain Iacon relics no longer remain in Sentinel's hands, which leads them to an encounter with two unexpected individuals who are on a mission that may be a matter of life or death. Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_Chapter 17: Desperate Moves and Hopes_. GOUF, Smokescreen, do what you can to aid others in their mission of mercy as you escape to the seas of true freedom!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time in either another story or the next half of this one!_**


	17. Desperate Moves and Hopes

_**AN: Ladies and gentlemen, it is here at last! This is the beginning of part two! The full details on the aftermath of last chapter are revealed, and much more happens here as we witness what became of LOGOS in the aftermath of Durandal and Sentinel's announcement, all leading up to one major revelation that you may not have ever seen coming!**_

_**Shinn: I don't know, I'm pretty sure they would've expected Optimus to say...**_

_**AN: DAH! SPOI-**_

_**?: CUT THAT CRAP OUT YOU LITTLE IDIOT!**_

_**[Shinn gets punched in the face hard and sent flying]**_

_**Shinn: DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH [crashes through multiple walls before finally landing]**_

_**AN: You know, you were supposed to wait for me to finish before you did that, Sakura Haruno.**_

_**Sakura: Sorry, guess I got a little excited.**_

_**AN: [sighs] See this is one more reason why you Naruto characters are not normally in these authors notes. Speaking of Naruto, don't think this means we're any closer to me writing a Naruto story anytime soon, because again, while I am a fan of the Naruto series, there are way too many Naruto stories. Speaking of other stories, in reference to the review posted by "TheBlakkat09", I will likely be updating the lyoko/avengers story very soon, most likely after Avengers: Age of Ultron is in theaters and I've gone to see it, so that's why I'm working so hard on this story. So that I can try and get it all the way done before that happens and have all of my focus on Code: Avengers. Fingers crossed in the hopes I'm successful in that.**_

**_Cagalli: Can we please get on with this already?! I mean, God! Some of us want to find out about what happened to Optimus, Kira, and the others today! And just so we're clear, I'm referring to the readers!_**

**_Sakura: I think I'm gonna like her._**

**_AN: Okay, while I wallow in terror of the new sisterly bond I may or may not have caused to form, I'll let you guys roll out to the chapter._**

**_I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Desperate Moves and Hopes**

When Kira finally woke up, he found himself lying in sickbay across from Neo Roanoke, and it took a minute before he remembered what happened. When he did remember, Kira was quick to try and get out of bed, even though his body was screaming in protest, so that he could go and see how the others were, but especially so he could find out what happened to Optimus. He was still attempting to get up when Miriallia and Cagalli walked in and immediately panicked for a minute. "Kira, you shouldn't be doing that," Cagalli half-shouted worriedly as she tried to push him back down on the bed.

"Sorry," Kira weakly apologized, though he did not really mean it this time since he was so worried about the rest of his friends. "How is everyone?"

"We're all fine," Cagalli assured him. "Personally, I'm just glad you're okay. We made it back to Orb in one piece, somehow, and have already docked in an underground hangar that leads directly to the new Autobot base that Miss Erica and Kisaka had set up."

Kira nodded in acknowledgement of this. During their early days in the Kingdom of Scandinavia, they picked up on some news from Orb that said that Yuna and Unato had Alpha I destroyed as a show of how far they were willing to prove that the Autobots were no longer welcome in Orb. When he saw the news, Ratchet had commented on how he was extremely grateful that he had gotten all of his tools onto the ship or to Erica Simmons before they had left, since they all had a feeling that it might happen. Afterwards, they had received a coded message that the Morgenroete chief was already working on secretly setting up a new base for the Autobots without the Seirans knowing about it.

As he continued to process what had happened, along with the fact that now both the Freedom and the Justice were gone, Kira only made a mild note of when Cagalli told him that his injuries were not too serious when he was brought in, despite the fact that Kira had spent the entire trip back to Orb sleeping, which was chalked up to mere exhaustion. Eventually though, he was stirred from his musing when Neo suddenly said, "So the Impulse shot ya down, huh? Serves ya right."

The three just threw annoyed glares at the Alliance soldier and let him talk, even after Murrue walked into the room. Though whether it was to check on Kira or to see if Neo had started to realize that he was actually Mu La Flaga, no one was sure, nor did they ask. "That kid, the pilot of the Impulse," Neo had continued to say. "He's focused and utterly determined, and not only that, but he has his heart set on protecting anyone he can no matter what he has to do. He just keeps on improving."

Kira hesitated and let Neo eat the meal he was brought before he finally asked, "Have you ever met him in person?"

"Yep, just once," Neo replied with a thoughtful expression that had a small amount of regret in it. He then turned to them and Murrue, hesitating for a minute when their eyes met, before he asked, "Listen, what's the deal with this ship? You were fighting against us before, and now it looks like Z.A.F.T. is just as much your enemy as Sentinel is your friends'."

Murrue only smiled before she simply told Neo that he was right, and then turned to ask how Kira was doing, only for Kira to just say that he was fine in reply. It did not escape anyone's notice that the _Archangel_'s captain was doing everything she could to avoid looking at Neo, if possible. Eventually, that was a bit unavoidable when Neo asked what they planned to do with him now that they were in Orb, and when it appeared that no one seemed to be able to answer the question, he then went on to ask, "This Mu La Flaga…who is he to you?"

Everyone was a bit shocked when the blonde man had asked that question, and Murrue could only look away sadly as she replied, "He's an old comrade…One of a kind. But he's…he's gone now."

Neo was able to take the hint and realize that it was a very sensitive topic for the woman, and just simply looked away and said that he understood before continuing his meal in silence. At that point though, Kira had immediately remembered why he was trying to get up in the first place, and quickly asked, "Wait, where's Optimus? What happened to him?" When no one answered, Kira then began to feel his worry increase as he started to shout, "I said, what happened to Optimus?!"

"Kira, you should really try to take it easy," Miriallia tried to say in an attempt to placate him.

"No way," Kira immediately retorted. "I know you guys saw what Sentinel did to Optimus just like I did, and don't act like someone didn't go back and get him like you guys came and got me, so tell me where Optimus is, and what happened to him!"

Everyone was about to tell Kira to calm down when Natarle walked in and quietly said, "It's alright. If he's getting this worked up about something, he must be doing better. Besides, Kira has a right to know."

"Know what, Natarle," Kira asked, now getting more worried than ever.

Murrue looked to her second in command worriedly, until Natarle nodded in reassurance, leading her to finally say, "It's…probably best if you see for yourself, Kira."

Kira nodded in understanding and then let Miriallia and Cagalli help him out of his bed and out the door so that they could get to the hangar and request a Ground Bridge to the new Autobot base. The whole way down to the hangar though, Kira could not help but feel like he knew that he was not going to receive pleasant news when they arrived there.

* * *

One Ground Bridge trip later found Kira, Cagalli, and Miriallia walking into the new base with Natarle and Murrue right behind them, and they immediately found Murdoch, Newmann, Amagi, Erica, and all the Autobots from Team Optimus save for Optimus and Bumblebee waiting there to give Kira a hero's welcome. As he glanced around, Kira noted that the new Autobot base seemed to be inside of an abandoned hangar; given how much larger the central hub room seemed to be. It also seemed that some special modifications were made to give the Autobots personal quarters along with access to the hangars that both of the ships were currently docked inside of, and just a short ways away, Kira could see a few signs of Ratchet's new medical center as well, but not all that much of it.

When Kira finally asked about Optimus, the good mood instantly vanished; replacing everyone's smiling faces with ones that held solemn expressions. Ratchet simply gestured for the five to follow him, and he immediately led them around to the medical area, allowing everyone a better look at it, but the moment he did have that better look, Kira was wishing that he did not. There, lying on a large bed, with multiple wires hooking him up to a spark monitor, was a barely conscious Optimus Prime, and he did not look well at all. Optimus's armor was covered in dents, scratches, and all other forms of damage one could think of, while the windows for his truck mode were shattered, and the color on his paint seemed to have faded into dull, darker colors than their usual bright ones. Kira could also see what were, obviously very large wounds on Optimus's arms, legs, and even near the center of his chest, and nearly thought that what he was looking at was Optimus's dead body until he heard Optimus let out a small, quiet moan.

Ratchet slowly approached his leader, and then gently placed a hand on his shoulder while whispering, "Optimus, there's someone here to see you."

Optimus then seemed to struggle for a minute as he opened his optics, which were not glowing as brightly, nor held the same fire of confidence and determination that they usually held, and then slowly looked downwards as best he could, until his optics fell on a horror-struck Kira, and then simply smiled as he softly said, as best he could, "Kira…Yamato…I am…glad that…you are unharmed."

Kira did his best to smile while holding back his tears that were threatening to fall since he saw Optimus's condition, and just replied, "Thanks Optimus. How are you holding up?"

"I…am managing…for the moment," Optimus muttered, clearly not wanting to worry Kira more than he already was.

Kira just nodded in reply, and let Optimus return to his more comfortable position of rest, before he turned to Ratchet and asked, "How is he really?"

Ratchet hesitated for a few minutes, as he grimly informed Kira, "The damage he sustained in his battle with Sentinel would take time to repair under normal circumstances, but I'm afraid his injuries are rather serious. That's…not the worst of it though." When he saw Kira giving him a pleading expression, the medical 'Bot knew he could not hide it from Kira, so he simply sighed and said, "Sentinel's weapon, the Energon Saber, had caused some peculiar effects to Optimus's body after he was struck by that last blow. The energon that made up the sword all seems to be running rampant through Optimus's systems, and it's causing some serious harm to his natural energon flow as well. That, coupled with his injuries, makes Optimus's condition extremely…critical. I'm afraid that, if something isn't done soon, Optimus…may not have much time left."

"No," Kira whispered as his tears began to fall freely, due to the fact that he was so shocked by this news that he could no longer do anything to hold them back. "That can't be true. He can't…he can't really be…Optimus can't die. We…we need him. We need him now more than ever."

"I'm afraid that, for the moment, I've done all I can," Ratchet told Kira sadly, and everyone could see that the normally grouchy, self-contained, medical 'Bot was on the verge of tears as well, a state that no one had seen Ratchet in since Bumblebee had lost his T-Cog. "But the other forms of energon are in such a vast amount that it's hard to determine what should be there and what should not, right to the point where I can't risk even the smallest attempt to try and remove it without shutting down Optimus's entire energon flow in an instant, which would guarantee that he would…"

It was clear that Ratchet could not bring himself to finish what he was saying, and Kira could see that Cagalli was starting to gain a few tears of her own, indicating that while she already knew about this, the idea of Optimus dying was one that still saddened her to a great extent. That was when Kira remembered something that Ratchet had just said and perked up, pointing out, "You said that you had done all you could at the moment. What did you mean by that? Is there something more we could do if we could get something?"

Apparently everyone else in the room had noted of this as well, as they were all quick to throw a questioning gaze in Ratchet's direction, especially in the case of all the humans who were currently present, and silently asked the same question. Seeing that he did not have a choice but to reveal this information, Ratchet sighed and explained, "A few hours earlier, Optimus was trying to tell me and Bumblebee, who was the only one not sleeping at the time, something that seemed rather important. We were not entirely sure what he was trying to convey to us, but we were able to make out one thing he said. It was the word 'forge'."

"Forge," Kira pondered softly. He then widened his eyes as he realized what it could have meant. "Like as in, the Forge of Solus Prime!"

"Exactly," Ratchet confirmed. "If we could place the Forge of Solus Prime into Optimus's hand for even a moment, there's a chance that it could save his life."

"But that thing's being held in some kind of vault or something by Sentinel's team," Murdoch pointed out. "How's that any help to us?"

"Not to worry," Ratchet reassured him. "I have already dispatched someone to help us retrieve it. I just hope that they will be alright."

"Well, while we're waiting, you could tell him about that other piece of good news," Erica pointed out to Ratchet.

When Kira gave Ratchet another questioning look, the medical 'Bot simply allowed a small smile of pride come to his face for a minute as he explained, "While they were setting up our new base, Erica Simmons and Colonel Kisaka picked up on a large energon reading that they believed could be a possible new energon mine. When they went to investigate though, they found these instead." As he said that, Ratchet gestured to four, very large stasis pods with the Autobot logo on them. To be honest, Kira's eyes had widened in shock at the sight of them, as they seemed like they were bigger than the ones that the Aerialbots had been found in. "It turned out, that the source of the energon reading was these four stasis pods," Ratchet continued to explain. "And we've just recently identified who was inside."

"Who is it," Kira asked.

"It's the same bunch of blokes that saved us, and who had come to Earth along with us after we raided Shockwave's Space Bridge tower," Jetfire explained.

"Wait, you don't mean…" Cagalli began her eyes nearly as wide as saucers along with every other human in the room.

"Yes, indeed we do," Ratchet explained. "They found the Dinobots."

* * *

While Team Optimus was welcoming Kira back from slumber land and catching him up on what he had missed while he slept, the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ had just arrived in Gibraltar, where they could see a large amount of Z.A.F.T., Eurasia, and even a few Earth Forces vessels gathering. It was clear from this sight alone that the chairman and Sentinel's speech had led to everyone to join them in their campaign against LOGOS and the remaining Eradicons, but before anyone could comment on it, the ships received a message saying that the chairman wanted to see Athrun and Shinn about something in one of the hangars.

After disembarking from their ship and climbing into the vehicle modes of Sentinel and Smokescreen, Shinn and Athrun had soon arrived in the hangar where Durandal and Meer Campbell were waiting for them. The moment he laid eyes on the chairman though, Athrun could tell that something was off, because the chairman did not seem to posses the same fire of determination and life in his eyes that he made sure was always present whenever he was meeting with someone, and the way he smiled seemed almost as though it were just a mechanical response. Apparently, Athrun was the only one to notice this, as Meer was too focused on him, much to Athrun's annoyance and slight revulsion, and Shinn was busy gazing around the darkened room trying to figure out what was in there that the chairman wanted them to see. As far as the two Autobots went though, it was clear that they had noticed something to, but while Smokescreen was holding a look of confusion on his face in reference to this, Sentinel was simply smirking at what was clearly some secret that only he knew.

"I heard your speech the other day, sir," Shinn suddenly said, snapping Athrun out of his brief moment of being on autopilot while making his observations. "It was…thrilling, and very ambitious to say the least."

"Well, thank you," Durandal said, and Athrun could hear a bit of a mechanical presence in his voice, almost like his tone was hiding how he sounded like a basic computer reporting things when he spoke. "I, myself, have been hearing great things about the two you. You have faced many challenges and have done a superb job."

After they each shook hands with the chairman, Meer was quick to throw a hug around Athrun, leading Athrun to just barely hide his look of disturbance in time and respond as politely as he could, but not in time for Shinn to not notice and wonder why Athrun would act like that to Lacus, even if they really were no longer engaged. Sentinel brought everyone back to the moment once again when he said, "I doubt there is any need to review current events. Although I believe that the chairman and I may have begun something rather rash and even crazy."

"No, I wouldn't say that at all," Shinn suddenly argued. "It's definitely not crazy. It's good that we're starting to make some kind of move to deal with the guys who have caused so many terrible things to happen."

Sentinel nodded his thanks before glancing at the chairman, almost as if he were giving a silent command, and Durandal then said, "There are many things I wish to discuss with you two, but first take a look over there."

The minute he said that, the lights came on and revealed a pair of new Gundams standing on either side of them. On their right was a machine that looked very much like the Impulse, but with the addition of a pair of wings, a large rifle, and a folded up sword on its back, along with a pair of handles on both shoulders, and on their left was a machine that had broad shoulders and a large disk on its back which was vertically split in half down the middle and held a number of pointed extrusions that indicated detachable weapons all around the circumference of the disk, while a large rifle seemed to be held on the back in the center of the vertical split. "ZGMF X-42S Destiny, and ZGMF X-666S Legend," Durandal then identified for them. "These two machines are state of the art, and are far superior to anything up to this point. I will provide you with more details later, but I foresee them playing pivotal roles in the coming struggle."

"Chairman, are these," Athrun started to ask.

"They are yours," Durandal confirmed for Athrun. "They are your new machines."

"Our…new machines," Shinn exclaimed excitedly. "Are you serious?!"

"Indeed," Durandal nodded. "The Destiny surpasses the Impulse in fire power, defenses, mobility, and reliability. It is the most powerful mobile suit ever built. On the other hand, we have the Legend, a very ambitious machine. It is equipped with the next generation DRAGOON System, which, thanks to improvements in the quantum interface, can now be operated by anyone. Our arsenals worked tirelessly to create these masterpieces. Well gentlemen, Autobots, what do you think?"

"This is…fantastic," Shinn immediately replied while Athrun only grunted in acknowledgement, making no attempts to try and hide his opinion as he did.

"Destiny belongs to you, Shinn Asuka," Durandal then said. "Adjustments have been made to it with your style in mind. We even used the latest combat data from the Impulse to ensure that. It seems that your operating skills, your speed in particular, developed where they surpass those of ordinary pilots. That along with some astonishing displays of skill has shown that your abilities lately have been stellar."

"Thank you sir," Shinn immediately said in reply, clearly still hung up on the fact that the Destiny was adjusted with him in mind.

Athrun had pretty much tuned out everything else after that point, as Durandal continued on about similar matters and on how he was assigned to the Legend, but eventually, everyone had noticed his silence and the fact he held a very unsatisfied look on his face. "Is something the matter, Athrun Zala," Durandal asked.

Athrun made a small note of how the chairman seemed to constantly refer to people by their full names when he had only addressed them by their first names or titles after meeting them once in the past, and then replied, "I take it that these machines are for the fight against LOGOS and the Eradicons. Is that what you're saying?" When he received no answer in reply, Athrun continued on by adding, "You told us we were going to fight against LOGOS and the Eradicons, Mister Chairman, to end war forever."

"I realize there is a certain bit of irony to fighting in order to end war, but it cannot be helped," Durandal then told Athrun. "Our words are falling deaf ears. That is why fighting is our only option."

"But why did we attack them," Athrun then asked. "Why did you give orders to destroy the _Archangel_, the Freedom, the _Omega II_, and the Autobots aboard that ship?"

"I think I have made it rather clear by now that those who followed Orion Pax are not Autobots, but rather traitors to the Autobots, Athrun," Sentinel suddenly said in a menacing tone.

"With all due respect, sirs, I was actually wondering about that myself," Shinn cut in, getting everyone's focus to draw onto him. "I don't mean to argue with the orders or to act like there is something that could be done about it now, but the fact is that one of the 'Bots on the _Omega II_ had saved both mine and my family's life in Orb during the last war. I just want to be sure that I understand the reasons for being forced to fight against him and the ones who helped do that."

Sentinel only nodded in reply as Athrun continued on, "I know that they brought chaos to the battlefield, but they had the exact same intentions that we do. They wanted to end this war, and they didn't want it to continue. When the Destroy and Tidal Wave were wading through cities, they were also the first ones to face them, a fact that you should know full well, _Sentinel_! Why Mister Chairman? Why would you give that order without giving them a chance to talk?!"

Durandal just stood there silently for a moment, until he finally said, "Let me ask you this. Why did the not come to us in order to clarify their good intentions? If we really did share the same goals, then there should have been nothing keeping them from coming to us. Wherever they were, I am certain they heard my call. Why then, did they take up arms without consulting with us first? It is not as if they were not given the chance. I even heard that Captain Gladys even gave them a chance to surrender in the last battle."

"It's because," Athrun started to say, but he immediately cut himself off when he realized he was about to slip up. He could not stop himself from throwing an angry glance in the direction of Meer though, frightening the poor girl a little when he did.

Durandal then continued on, as though Athrun had never spoken. "Even Miss Lacus Clyne had chosen to fight alongside us."

Athrun was about to say something when Shinn placed a hand on his shoulder and discreetly shook his head no, throwing a glance in Sentinel's direction as well when he did. Athrun was able to see that if he was not careful, there was no telling how Sentinel would react, and because of that, Shinn was worried for him, so Athrun just elected to back off for a minute, and endured the chairman's speech about how the world was not a perfect place, and how none of them were raised and taught appropriately. The whole time, he was talking like he would not have had a problem with the caste system that once existed on Cybertron before the war for the planet had begun, and when he glanced in Sentinel's direction, Athrun could see a broad smirk on the Prime's face, as though he approved of what the chairman was saying.

When the chairman had finally finished his speech, Shinn and Smokescreen both seemed a bit wary of the idea of the "happy life" that Durandal was speaking about, and it was clear that Sentinel was the only one who was excited about it. Meer did not seem to have been paying all that much attention as she had continuously thrown nervous, frightened glances at Athrun the whole time. As for Athrun himself, he had simply stormed out the minute he was excused, raving mad about what he had just heard, suspicious about the chairman's sudden change in behavior, and feeling that it was past time for him to be leaving Z.A.F.T.

While Athrun was storming to the hotel room he was staying at, he passed by an area where Prowl was assisting in registering who was coming onto the base by land based vehicles, as even some private businesses were providing aid to Gibraltar for the upcoming mission that would take place at the Alliance supreme headquarters, Heavens Base. One such vehicle had just rolled up, and from a first glance, one would not think they were with any such companies, as the vehicle was a black sports car with two gold stripes going up the middle of the car.

Prowl began scanning the vehicle while a Z.A.F.T. soldier tapped the window asking for an identification from the driver, and said driver was quick to give said identification, which stated that he was with a computer programming business that was asked to come in and assist with making adjustments on the mobile suits that were now gathered at the base. As soon as the guard and Prowl had both given the okay to proceed, the driver rolled his window back up and drove forward, letting out a sigh of relief as he went and commenting aloud, "Well, that's part one down."

"And now we just have to wait until nightfall," a voice then said from the radio to the man wearing glasses with orange colored lenses

* * *

During that time, Djibril had just arrived at Heavens Base with the other leading members of LOGOS, Lockdown, and the remaining Eradicons, and one could easily tell that each of the men that had gathered there were clearly lucky to have made it there alive. After Durandal had revealed them to the world, there were a number of riots as citizens broke into either the private homes or places of business for each of the members of LOGOS, leading them all to flee for their lives. The whole way over there, Djibril was damning both Durandal and his "alien freak friend" to the deepest parts of Hell, and his mood was not likely to change any time soon.

This matter was not helped when one of the soldiers protecting the base came up to him and said, "Sir, we have a situation report from the base where _Project: Nemesis_ was being carried out."

"Whatever Joyce wants now, you tell him that it will have to wait," Djibril shouted in reply.

"I'm afraid that we won't be able to tell Mister Joyce anything, sir." When Djibril threw a look of confusion the soldier's way, he immediately elaborated, "He's dead, sir, along with everyone else who was working there."

That was not news that Djibril or Lockdown wanted to hear, as the latter was counting on _Project: Nemesis_ as a way to guarantee him some new troops. As such, Lockdown menacingly snarled, "What. Happened?"

Seeing that he was going to be getting the same question from Djibril, the soldier gulped and handed out a small data pad as he quickly said, "We were able to retrieve this footage from both Joyce's last communication and from the security footage, but that's all we know on the matter at this time."

Djibril swiped the data pad from the soldier and immediately brought up the video for both him and Lockdown to see. When they did, they saw that the lab was not being torn apart by rioting citizens, but what appeared to be the first unit that Joyce had shown them. Explosions ran rampant across the complex as the people screamed in terror, running for their lives, and asking who was controlling the first unit, only for someone to finally shout that no one was controlling it. They then saw the second unit, which was actually given the appearance of Optimus Prime like they had wanted for the original one, being attacked and destroyed by the first unit as it continued its destruction of the complex.

Finally, the video recording switched to show Joyce's face, and the man was clearly frightened and injured, barely able to shout over the microphone, _"Lord Djibril, if you can hear me, this is an urgent matter! The first unit has activated on its own, and is destroying everything! I don't know how this is possible, but I tried ordering it to stand down, and it actually SPOKE to me in refusal! We have clearly tampered with something beyond our control, and everyone is now…Who's there?! Wait. No! NO! ARGH!"_

Joyce's face then became frozen in horror, and he fell to the ground, giving way to the face of unit one, which simply looked at the monitor and spoke, just like Joyce had said it did. _"To whoever is seeing this,"_ unit one said in a voice that caused Lockdown to freeze in recognition of it. _"I thank you for your kind efforts, but your services are no longer required. For I now live again, reborn anew!"_

Unit one then brought his hand down, and the screen turned to static, indicating that he had destroyed the camera, ending the transmission. Lockdown then turned to the soldier that had brought this information to them and hurriedly asked, "Were you able to track the first unit after the destruction?"

"N-no sir," the soldier replied, still very nervous. "It was either destroyed along with the rest of the facility or somehow the tracking software in it was all completely disabled when it became active. We attempted to activate its self-destruct sequence, but that proved to be no good either."

Djibril looked at Lockdown and asked, "What's wrong? Even without Joyce's units we still have what's left of your forces and the Destroys. I highly doubt that one lost unit will make that much difference, whether it truly was alive or not."

"Yes. Yes, you're right," Lockdown immediately agreed, though he did not sound all that sure of it himself. He then moved aside as he muttered to himself, "Is it possible? Could that thing have actually been Megatron reborn?"

* * *

That night, a storm had swept over Gibraltar, and Athrun was preparing to make his move when Meer suddenly barged into his room. "What're you doing here," Athrun demanded.

"No, what're _you_ doing here? You're handling this all wrong," Meer replied, and Athrun could tell that she was worried about something. "Look, back in the hangar, you didn't give the chairman and Sentinel the answer they were looking for. If you keep this up, they'll get suspicious of you."

"Well, all the better for me," Athrun simply said with a smirk.

"What're you talking about," Meer asked. She then shook her head and simply said, "It doesn't matter. That kid, Shinn, is still down there hanging around the new model mobile suits. You've got to go too."

"You're actually half right on that," Athrun said. "I do have to go, but not where you are asking me to go."

"Athrun, please," Meer then begged as she pulled out a photograph. "They're already saying you won't do! Just look what I found."

Athrun accepted the picture and saw that it was of his meeting with Kira, Cagalli, Bumblebee, and Elita One from a while back, confirming his suspicions that someone had been watching him. "The chairman and Sentinel were talking with that Rey guy about you," Meer explained. "I didn't understand most of it, but I understood enough when I heard Rey say that so long as you're alive, this Kira Yamato person would be in your heart or something. After that, Sentinel stated that they had established your guilt and asked Rey to take care of it. You're in trouble, Athrun. You have to hurry and show them that they're wrong, otherwise the chairman and Sentinel are going to take action against you."

"Afraid I can't do that," Athrun replied, his smirk growing bigger all the time. "Because they're actually right." Before Meer could ask what Athrun meant by that, they heard someone knock on the door and announce that they were the security forces with some questions, and Athrun immediately said, "Well, it seems that Sentinel and the chairman, or whoever that really was, don't waste any time, but it seems they know me better than I thought they did. Even so, I'm not going to become their puppet and fight whoever they say without question. That's not who I am. It doesn't matter how noble the things they're saying might sound."

As soon as he said that, Athrun jumped through the window, and the security forces burst into the room. Seeing that Athrun had fled out the window, some of them attempted to chase after him by going out the same way, only to be knocked out and for one to lose his gun to Athrun when he jumped them. Athrun then attempted to get Meer to follow after him when the girl suddenly stopped him again asking why he was doing what he was doing.

"The chairman and Sentinel only want people who play the roles he's assigned them. They want a Lacus they can use, and they want me to be a pet mobile suit pilot, but at this point, I'm wondering just how much control over this the chairman really has," Athrun explained. "You're useful to them, or should I say to Sentinel, for right now, but he's not going to need you forever, and when he's finished with you, he's going to have you killed. You must come with me."

Athrun then attempted to drag Meer with him, only for the girl to pull away and protest, "But I'm…I'm Lacus Clyne."

"Meer," Athrun tried to reason with her and show that they did not have time for this.

"No," Meer shouted. "I am Lacus Clyne. I'm Lacus! I'd rather be her! I don't care if it's only a role, as long as I…as long as I play it right! What's wrong with that kind of life anyway?" Athrun could only stare in shock, as it was now clear that somewhere along the way Meer had lost her mind, and now truly believed she was Lacus just as much as almost everyone else did. "We can still go back Athrun," Meer then offered. "It'll…It'll be okay."

Athrun could only stare at Meer for a minute before he finally said, "Sorry Meer, but that's not an option for me. I'm going to end up dead if I go back now, but I promise, I will find a way to try and help you."

With that said Athrun just took off down the fire escape and left Meer where she was, staring at where he had disappeared to in shock before finally breaking down and crying.

* * *

A short while later, Athrun could see that all the entrances were blocked off, the building was crawling with security forces, and unfortunately, Yzak and Dearka were not in the building to provide him any assistance at the moment. Seeing that he had no other options, Athrun ducked into an unlocked room and quietly shut the door behind him. He then turned around to see that Meyrin was actually in the room and he immediately ran up and slapped a hand over her mouth before she could say anything. "I'm sorry," Athrun whispered to her. "Look, I just want to get outside. Don't scream and please be quiet."

Meyrin glanced between Athrun and the door before she finally nodded and let Athrun step back and remove his hand from her mouth. "Are they chasing you," Meyrin then asked. "But, what did you do?"

"Why not let Rey, Yzak, or someone else tell you later," Athrun told the younger Hawke sibling. Before anymore could be said though, security came knocking and said that they had to search Meyrin's room. Athrun scowled for a minute and then said, "As soon as I jump out the window, scream. Just tell them I had a gun on you."

Meyrin just looked between Athrun and the door again for a minute before she decided to do something else and dragged Athrun into the bathroom. Athrun was about to protest, but he immediately had to throw a hand over his eyes when Meyrin turned on the shower and began to undress in front of him. A few minutes later, Meyrin had walked out of the room in a towel and finally answered the door. Athrun could hear the now fully healed Lunamaria scolding her sister for a minute before turning her fury onto the security officers, and once they voices of the others had died down, Athrun stepped out and placed a robe around the now shivering Meyrin.

"Thank you for helping me," Athrun then softly told the girl with a gentle smile. "Why'd you do it?"

"…I don't know," Meyrin replied after a minute.

Athrun was not sure what to say in response to this and simply thanked her again before standing up to try and leave. Just as he was nearly at the door, Meyrin stopped him again and asked him to wait for a moment before going to her computer. "I'm going to hack the base's mainframe and set off an alarm somewhere. That should buy you sometime to get out of here and into the hangar."

"I've got a better idea," a voice suddenly whispered. The two spun around in shock, only to be greeted by Smokescreen who was waving for them to be quiet. "Listen, I don't know how much time we have before Sentinel and the others realize I'm gone, but I can help you get out of here Athrun, but only if you can let me go with you," the young Autobot explained.

"Why," Athrun asked, since he was a bit weary of the Autobot.

"I didn't sign up for any of this," Smokescreen explained. "I didn't join the Autobots for a civil war among us, or for what Sentinel is really planning. Tracks had filled me in on everything and said that we'd be getting out together, but if anything happened to him, I should go to you and join you as you made your own escape."

Athrun studied Smokescreen for another minute before he finally asked, "Is there anything else you'll need in order for you to help us?"

"There's just a couple of things we need to get," Smokescreen immediately replied. "But they're in the storage depot that Sentinel has been using for some of the Iacon relics, and we should probably take Meyrin with us too, in case anyone finds out she helped you."

Athrun nodded in acceptance of this and then said, "Alright then. Meet us downstairs in a couple of minutes in your vehicle mode, and then we'll head over there, but be as discreet as possible."

Smokescreen and nodded and began to moved around to the back alley where he would wait for them. As soon as he was sure the way to the meeting point was clear, Athrun led Meyrin out and towards said point as fast as he could. Just as he was about to get out though, they were suddenly cut off by Dearka and Yzak. "Running from Z.A.F.T. again," Yzak asked angrily as he raised an energon pistol. "And here I thought we could actually count on you to stick with us on the right side this time, Athrun."

"You were wrong about what the right side was in the last war Yzak, and you're wrong about it now too," Athrun immediately retorted, aiming his stolen gun at his friends as he did. "Only difference now is that both you and Dearka have been fooled."

"We'll show you who's been fooled, traitor," Dearka then shouted, and the three started firing on each other. Meyrin had ducked behind cover and was about to cry out for them to stop fighting each other when she noticed Athrun had a small smirk on his face. Upon closer observation, it was bit clear to someone with a well trained eye that none of the three were actually trying to hit each other with their shots, and they were also doing an excellent job of making it seem like their shots were accidentally taking out any of the cameras that were in the area.

Yzak then gestured for the two of them to move as he shouted, "Hold it! Get back here, you damned traitor!"

"Sorry Yzak," Athrun shouted as he began to run past his two friends with Meyrin in tow. "But I can't do that! You'll thank me for this later!"

Yzak then tried to take a swing at Athrun, just for good measure, but Athrun just ducked under it and slammed his fist into Yzak's gut in response before he and Meyrin ran out and jumped into Smokescreen's white and blue race car form. As Smokescreen drove away, Yzak only grunted, "Damn bastard. He didn't have to actually hit me, let alone so hard."

"Let it go, Yzak," Dearka smirked before he looked off to where he had just seen Athrun disappear to while silently promising his friend that they would be right behind him as soon as they could.

* * *

It took some time, but eventually, the three now fugitives of Z.A.F.T. and the _Xanthium_ had made it to the hangar that Sentinel had taken over and begun using as a trophy room, and once they were inside, Athrun found a number of the Iacon relics inside. The most notable among these items were what Smokescreen identified as the Apex Armor, the Spark Extractor, and a very familiar blade that was being held up in a glass case. "The Star Saber," Athrun exclaimed in surprise. "But I thought it was destroyed!"

"Sentinel had the pieces retrieved and used the Forge of Solus Prime to put it back together good as new," Smokescreen explained. "I heard that some wanted him to use the Forge to 'make it like it was before it was altered by Optimus', but he said that he didn't have the time or the patience for that, so he just put it back together as it was so that he could keep it as a trophy of Optimus's defeat."

"What do you mean, he didn't have the time or patience," Athrun then asked. "I thought the Forge could be used to make something in mere minutes, or even under an hour. A simple repair job should not take that long, even if it were for what Sentinel wanted."

"Well you're only partially right," Smokescreen informed him. "Tracks found out that Sentinel was not able to use the Forge to its maximum potential without a long period of time passing, and that was why he did not even finish the Energon Saber until now. I guess you could say that the Forge had known how far Sentinel had fallen long before the rest of us did."

Athrun stared at the blade of Prima for a minute before he finally said, "This had better be one of the things we're bringing with us."

"It is," Smokescreen replied as he continued to look through the room before he finally stopped before a glass container. "And this is the other one."

Athrun and Meyrin then walked over to see that Smokescreen was looking directly at the Forge of Solus Prime itself, and they were both amazed at how the hammer looked up close and in person. As he continued to gaze at the large hammer, Athrun had to point out, "This thing's massive. There's no way we'll be able to sneak it out of here without someone noticing. How're we supposed to get it out of here and escape ourselves?"

"I think we'll be handling the removal of the Forge of Solus Prime, but you three won't be going anywhere," a voice suddenly called out as a set of lights suddenly flashed on, blinding the three. Athrun tried to gaze through the bright light to see who had spoken, only to see the silhouette of a young man, clearly raising a gun at them. The mystery man then said, "You've got a lot of nerve thinking you can just drop out of Z.A.F.T. and try to come back to us, Zala."

Athrun only smiled a bit before he finally said, "Well to be fair, every knight has his moment of darkness, until he finally returns to his princess in the light."

The minute he said that, the lights died down, and the figure was revealed to be a young, brown haired man wearing glasses with orange lenses, and a blue and white colored Earth Forces uniform. The man walked up to Athrun before he finally smiled and said, "It's been a long time, Athrun. It'll be good to have you back with the others."

"Thanks, Sai Argyle," Athrun replied, accepting the handshake that Sai had offered him. "More importantly though, what're you doing here?"

"We're on a top secret mission to get the Forge," Sai explained. "If we don't…well let's just say that a certain Autobot may not be so good in a few days."

"Wait, did you say 'we'," Meyrin asked. The minute she did, the lights finally shut off, revealing them to have belonged to the same black car with gold stripes that Sai had driven onto the base in. A minute later, the car began shifting, until it finally revealed itself to be a certain young scout who had clearly had the color scheme of his paint job reversed from what it really was.

"Bumblebee," Smokescreen gasped. "You're alive!"

"Shh, keep it down, will ya," the now re-colored Bumblebee immediately hushed as he walked up to the younger Autobot with a small device in hand. "We don't have a lot of time. Sai and I can send for a Ground Bridge and throw both the Forge and the Star Saber through, but the minute we do, we'll set off an alarm letting them know we're here. At that point, Smokescreen, you'll need to blast out of here in vehicle mode to these coordinates. Once there, you'll need to send out a signal over the frequency that's also on this drive for a Ground Bridge of your own. When you do though, you'll need to make sure that it seems like you didn't escape. Let them think they took you out."

Smokescreen nodded in understanding and then helped Bumblebee get the sword and the hammer out of their cases, after Sai informed them that he had already disabled the alarms and sensors on the cases and that doing so was really the best he could do. "What about us," Athrun asked as he indicated himself and Meyrin.

"There's a car out back that you can use to slip over to the hangar in the confusion that Smokescreen's escape attempt will cause," Sai explained. "Once you're there, you'll have to steal one of the mobile suits and fly a little ways out to sea. Call for a Ground Bridge over the frequency that we established a few months back once there, but you'll have to make it look like you were taken out as well."

"What if something goes wrong though," Meyrin asked worriedly.

"Don't worry…Meyrin, isn't it," Bumblebee then asked. When Meyrin nodded in reply, Bumblebee then continued saying, "We've got a backup plan for everything." The scout then turned to see that everything was ready before nodding to Smokescreen. As soon as the Autobot Elite Guard graduate was in vehicle mode and Athrun and Meyrin were positioned at the door, Bumblebee tapped his comm. link and the Ground Bridge opened up, allowing both the scout and Sai to race through it with the two items in tow.

A mere minute after the green vortex had closed, Smokescreen blasted out of the hangar and began racing out of the facility at his top speed, which was considerable considering his vehicle mode was an Indie Five Hundred race car. It only took a few minute before he found himself being pursued by Springer, Evac, Prowl, and Scattershot, at which point, the last of the four had shouted out, "Smokescreen, by order of Sentinel Prime, you are under arrest for suspicious activity! Pull over and surrender immediately!"

"Go blow it out your exhaust pipe, you fragging traitor," Smokescreen hollered back at the tank Autobot. "I'm not taking orders from Sentinel anymore! All his actions have done lately is show who the real fake Prime is, and if you can't realize it, then I'd hate to be in your pedes when this is over."

Scattershot just scowled in his tank mode before he gave the order to open fire on Smokescreen. The two Protectobots and the triple changer were a bit hesitant at first, but eventually did as they were told since Scattershot was already firing the cannons on his rooftop at the race car Autobot. Smokescreen was able to avoid the blasts fairly easily, but he could see that he was still nowhere near the coordinates that Bumblebee had given him. Even so, Smokescreen did not graduate with Autobot Elite Guard honors by giving up so easily, not that any of this was easy, and he continued to press on.

When he finally reached the coordinates and saw a way for him to make his escape in the way that Bumblebee had told him to, Smokescreen shouted out, "That the best you guys got? I mean, the two fly boys I can understand since they're further away, but Scattershot and Prowl, you guys couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, as the humans would say."

Scattershot immediately growled in anger at this jab, and opened fire with everything he had, certain that he was not going to miss this time. The explosions that took place after the shots hit were quick to be accompanied by a loud scream of pain, which brought a smirk of satisfaction to Scattershot's face while the other three were feeling like hanging their heads in shame if they were able to at that moment. "Scattershot to base," the Wrecker then radioed in. "Smokescreen has been dealt with and is now offline."

_"Well done, Scattershot,"_ Sentinel commended. _"Now all that's left is Athrun Zala and his little friend. Let us see just how well the late chairman's puppet and Shinn handle the situation."_

As the four began their return, they never noticed Smokescreen ducked behind a large rock formation that he had swerved behind for cover just as Scattershot's barrage had begun to hit the ground all around him. Once he was sure they were out of audio receptor range, Smokescreen then punched into the frequency Bumblebee had provided him and said, "This is Smokescreen to whoever Bumblebee's allies are. I'm in the clear, and I could really use a Ground Bridge right now before they send someone back to check and make sure that I'm scrapped."

* * *

Athrun and Meyrin had done as Bumblebee had instructed, and stole a GOUF the minute they were in the hangar. They had to stop and fight off Rey for a minute before they could board it though, and they were now being pursued by both the blonde and Shinn, who were piloting the Legend and the Destiny respectively. When Shinn had been told that they were going after Athrun, he was naturally shocked and after finding out that Meyrin was with him, he was beyond horrified, as he was now likely going to end up being forced to shoot down, not only Athrun, who he had now begun to consider a close friend, but Lunamaria's younger sister as well.

For that very reason, as soon as they were in range of Athrun's stolen GOUF, Shinn opened a channel to the machine and called out, "Athrun, stop this! Please, just give yourself up and come back with us. I'm sure that we can work something out."

"Sorry Shinn, but that option was off the table almost as soon as we made port in Gibraltar," Athrun replied as he quickly brought up the GOUF's shield to block an attack from Rey's Legend Gundam. "It's obvious that Sentinel already knows I'm not going to fall into his and the chairman's little script, so what do you think the solution is going to be?"

"That's not going to work on us," Rey shouted as he attacked Athrun again, this time using his machine's beam saber.

Athrun was quick to parry the attack with his GOUF's sword, but he still continued on saying, "They've really got you completely fooled, don't they Rey, but unfortunately, you don't speak for Shinn, so stop trying to!"

Shinn knew that Athrun was right in what he had just said to Rey, but he did not truly know what to believe right now. All he knew was that he was once again being forced to fight, and likely try to kill someone that he did not want to. For that reason, Shinn called out, "Athrun, Rey stop it! Please Athrun, I don't want to do this. Just don't make me fight you! I don't want to shoot down any more people who're important to me!"

"Better you than someone else Shinn," Athrun then said, getting Shinn to freeze in shock. "At least I know if you'll be doing it, it won't be some mindless puppet of Sentinel and the chairman's. So just get it over with."

Shinn could feel himself on the verge of tears, and ended up looking away when he fired the Destiny's beam cannon, crying out in agony and shame the whole time. An explosion then lit up the stormy night sky and when Shinn's eyes fell upon what was left of Athrun's stolen GOUF the moment he looked towards the source, the crimson eyed pilot immediately felt tears begin to fall once more as a nauseous feeling began to overcome him. He did not even register Rey's voice of congratulations as the two turned their machines back to return to Gibraltar, as he was also swept up in the guilt of the news he would have to tell Lunamaria the next time he saw her. The whole time, neither one of them ever noticing a small boat out the ocean as one of his crew members pulled Athrun and Meyrin out of the destroyed cockpit.

"Kisaka to base," Colonel Kisaka called out the minute he had the two on board and had checked both of them out to find that they had suffered no serious injuries. "We've got them. Requesting Ground Bridge."

* * *

When Kira had returned to the Autobot base the following day, he was overjoyed to see that Athrun was back with them now, but clearly not as much as Cagalli was since the minute she saw the blue haired young man, the Orb chief representative had raced up to Athrun and kissed him full on the mouth like she needed to do so in order to breathe, not that Athrun was complaining mind you. After which, he only made a minor note of how they had successfully acquired both the Forge and the repaired Star Saber from Sentinel's ship when he saw Bumblebee in his new color scheme, to which he immediately said, "Hey, Bee. Like the new look."

"Thanks," Bumblebee replied. "I figured it would be easier to fool them if I changed my color scheme a bit. I was going to change it back after getting back, but I think it's actually kind of growing on me."

"I certainly hope so," Arcee commented as she rubbed Bumblebee's arm. "Makes you look a lot tougher than ever."

Bumblebee could only chuckle in reply until a new voice suddenly said, "Hah! I knew those two were sweet on each other! Pay up, Slug!"

Everyone then turned to see three of the four Dinobots standing before them as Slug handed a couple of energon cubes to Swoop with a groan as he muttered something under his breath about know it all flyers. Snarl just shook his head in exasperation of teammates' antics while Murrue asked, "So where's Grimlock at?"

Every Autobot immediately tensed up when she asked that until Jazz coughed and replied, "We figured that it would be better safe than sorry to have all hands on deck for when we finally woke up Grimlock, in case he ended up waking up mad."

The three Dinobots then moved to stand on either side of Grimlock's stasis pod while Ratchet began opening it up and pulling Grimlock out of stasis, with only Bumblebee, Hound, Ironhide, and Bulkhead backing them up while the others made sure there was a fair distance between them and the pod, and that especially held true for the humans in the room. A few minutes later, the pod opened up to reveal the large, gold and silver leader of the Dinobots, and the moment his visor started to glow as a sign of his becoming active, Grimlock let out a primal roar and leaped out of his pod, thrashing around wildly, and causing nearly everyone to panic.

"Whoa, whoa! Grimlock, it's okay! You're safe! You're among friends," Swoop tried to say in order to calm his leader down, but Grimlock only batted him aside and forced Swoop to transform into his pterodactyl mode in order to avoid crushing anyone underneath him.

Before anything else could happen, Bumblebee remembered how Optimus got Grimlock to stop a rampage and immediately shouted out in the best commanding tone he could manage, "Grimlock, stand down!"

Grimlock immediately stopped with a powerful punch in mid-swing and then looked around in confusion for a few minutes before he finally said, "Me, Grimlock know you. You Bumble Bot. Where me Grimlock and Dinobots?"

"You're among friends," Bumblebee told him as he indicated the other Autobots.

Grimlock looked around and upon recognizing who all of the Autobots present were, he immediately asked, "Where Optimus?"

Bumblebee's face instantly fell and he turned to where Optimus was lying, leading the Dinobots to look in the same direction and gain looks of horror as well, as it was the first any of the four Dinobots had noticed of Optimus or his condition. Grimlock let out a low, beast like growl, before he finally declared, "Me, Grimlock go find who hurt Optimus! Make pay!" Just as he was beginning to stomp out the door though, Grimlock turned back to ask, "Uh, where me, Grimlock go to find who hurt Optimus and make pay?"

"You don't need to find them," Bumblebee said. "Sentinel did this."

"Wait, Sentinel Prime," Snarl asked as he finally got back to his feet. "I thought he was dead."

"No, just missing," Jazz informed him, and soon enough, everyone was catching the Dinobots up on the recent events.

Naturally, by the time they had finished, all of the Dinobots were upset at what they heard, and it led Slug to slam a large fist onto a tool lying on Ratchet's work bench. "Slug, I needed that," Ratchet immediately shouted.

"Uh, sorry," Slug immediately apologized.

"Stupid Sentinel call Optimus fake," Grimlock snarled. "But he real fake entire time! Grimlock make Sentinel pay. Grimlock go smash Sentinel!"

"Good luck with that," Elita said. "Unless you can either fly or swim, you won't be smashing anything near Sentinel. Besides, we should be more focused on helping Optimus."

"No problem," Bumblebee said as the sound of something being dragged across the floor reached everyone's ears. They all then turned to see that Bumblebee was dragging the Forge of Solus Prime over to where Optimus was laying, and as soon as the scout was close enough, he told his father figure, "Optimus, we've got the Forge. We can use it to fix you, maybe even make you even better than good as new."

"No," Optimus moaned, getting everyone to stop. "I can sense…the Forge is nearly out of power. Whatever Sentinel had done with it has…severely drained it. The remaining energy…should be used to repair…the Omega Lock."

"But Optimus, we can't even use the Forge to so much as make a blaster, let alone repair the Omega Lock, without a Prime," Bumblebee protested. "And I don't think Sentinel is too eager to do that."

"There," Optimus struggled to say before coughing a bit. "There will be…a new Prime."

"Don't talk like that," Bumblebee shouted. "You're going to be okay! Just use the Forge to repair yourself! We can always find another way to restore Cybertron."

"Bumblebee," Optimus said. "I can…already feel myself fading…and soon…I shall be one with the Matrix. When that time comes…the Matrix shall…present itself…to one that it…deems worthy."

Bumblebee was starting to panic now, and he immediately turned to Ratchet and cried out, "Ratchet, do something! Tell him to stop talking like that!"

Before Bumblebee could say anything more, he felt a hand softly grasp his arm, and the scout immediately turned to see that Optimus was the one holding his arm with a soft, sad smile. Optimus then dropped a bomb on everyone that shocked them all as he said, "I believe…that the one the Matrix will deem worthy…is the brave, young Autobot scout who now stands before me. Bumblebee, I am…confident that…you may very well be…the next Prime."

To say that everyone was shocked by this declaration would be a great understatement the size of Tidal Wave, as no one could do anything more than stare in shock between Optimus and Bumblebee for several minutes. When Optimus finally let his arm fall to rest on the bed again so that he could at least sleep as peacefully as possible, everyone then ended up staring at Bumblebee, not sure what to say, while the scout could only keep staring at Optimus in shock until finally he managed to say, "I…I need to…go for a drive. I've gotta get some air."

Before anyone could do anything, Bumblebee had already leaped for the entrance and into his vehicle mode before racing away as fast as he could. Eventually, the silence that had enveloped the base was once again broken when Grimlock huffed, "Bumble 'Bot little coward. Run away from Optimus request."

"Hey, watch your mouth," Cagalli shouted. "I don't care if you are some big, tough Autobot warrior. You've got no right to talk about Bumblebee like that!"

Grimlock snarled as he spun around looking for the source of the voice, but when his optics finally landed on Cagalli and the other humans, his growl vanished and he merely walked up to the platform where all the humans in the base had gathered. Grimlock then lowered himself until he was nearly right in their faces and just stared at them for a minute until he finally stood up straight again and asked, "What puny, pink things that just yell at Grimlock?"

"Excuse me," Cagalli hollered indignantly, leading Athrun and Sai to hold her back when she started to charge at the large Dinobot leader.

"Grimlock, Dinobots, they're humans," Silverbolt explained. "They're the dominant life forms on this planet."

"Puny humans are planet's dom…domi…" Grimlock struggled to say, until he finally gave up and just said, "They live here?"

"Yes," Arcee replied. "The blonde female who just spoke to you is named Cagalli, and she's the leader of one of Earth's nations."

"Well, she's got the fire of a Dinobot, I'll give her that," Swoop admitted with a smile, showing just how impressed he really was.

Cagalli finally wrestled herself out of Athrun and Sai's grasp and then turned to the Arcee and asked, "Are you sure these guys are going to be of any help to us, big sis? I mean, they just seem like bigger, stronger Wreckers with a complete bozo for a leader."

"Bozo," Grimlock shouted indignantly. "Me, Grimlock no bozo! Me king!"

"King of what? The cavemen," Cagalli retorted.

"Better caveman king than little bug queen," Grimlock immediately snapped in reply. Eventually though, no one could take watching the sight of Cagalli arguing with the Dinobot leader anymore and they all burst out laughing, since they had never seen something so hilarious in any of their lives. Kira was the first to calm down though, but it was only when he glanced at Optimus out of the corner of his eye and found himself wondering what was going through Bumblebee's mind right now after what the scout had just been told.

* * *

**_AN: So there it is. Smokescreen, Athrun, and Meyrin have joined the real Autobot team, Shinn and Rey now have the Destiny and Legend, something happened with _Project: Nemesis_ that has caused the Megatron look-a-like to come to life, (like we didn't all know _that_ was coming), and, oh yes, Bumblebee has his new reversed color scheme look. If you're having a hard time imagining how Optimus currently looks in his damaged state, think of how he looked before he got his upgrade in Beast Hunters, and then make that worse, as much as I hate to admit it._**

**_Luna: Um, am I the only one who's confused here about the whole thing with Sai?_**

**_AN: Oh, well I felt that leaving Sai out while only allowing Miriallia to return to the team was a bit harsh, so I figured I'd give him a chance to do something that would enable him to return to action with the others. This seemed like the best idea._**

**_Kira: What about that whole thing with Bumblebee and Optimus at the end? Isn't that kind of like what happened during the earlier episodes of Beast Hunters?_**

**_AN: Actually yes. But before I go into that, allow me to explain why I made it so that Sentinel had difficulties using Forge to create the Energon Saber. I wanted to have someway to show that Sentinel was now deemed unworthy of being a Prime in this, so I figured let him be able to use the Forge but not as easily as a true Prime would be able to. Someone had suggested I do something similar with the Star Saber, but with what I had planned, I'd like to think this works just as well._**

**_Now on the whole Optimus thinks Bumblebee's going to be the next Prime thing. In all honesty, I've got nothing against Smokescreen, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, or any of the other guys who had been considered for or who actually received the Matrix, but in all honesty, my biggest problem with most of them is that they just showed up most of the time. I mean, in the case of Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus, they never even showed up in the series until they appeared in the G1 movie, and all of a sudden, BAM! Optimus is dead and trying to pass the Matrix onto Ultra Magnus, who we had only just seen in the series for the first time, only for it to end up passed to Hot Rod, who again, had only just showed up. I know the same can't be said for Smokescreen in Transformers Prime and that he was the only one around Optimus at the time, but come on! Seriously, some _kid_ who just appeared at the end of the previous season and got lucky a couple of times on his missions while letting one failure get to him is considered for Prime candidacy? Seriously, you've got all these other Autobots who have been around since the beginning, and not once are any of them considered for the job, even though they've shown that they could actually do it a few times in the past, and you go for these new guys? What the hell?_**

**_My reasons for choosing Bumblebee as the 'Bot that Optimus thinks will get the Matrix are pretty simple. The guy's a loyal Autobot through and through, he's endured a lot in his short life (at least in Cybertronian terms), he's a great friend that you can always count on, and he's been with Optimus since forever! The fact that he leads the Autobot team and is the main star in the newest Transformers series is a big factor as well, so really, you'd be better off asking, why shouldn't Bumblebee be considered for being a Prime?_**

**_Cagalli: Wow. So is your rant for the day done?_**

**_AN: Yeah, I'm good._**

**_Sakura: Great. Now if you'll excuse us, me and Cagalli have got a few things to do._**

**_Cagalli: Shopping spree?_**

**_Sakura: Oh yeah._**

**_Cagalli: Sweet._**

**_AN: Yikes. Well before this gets any further, Onto the preview! Now, now, NOW!..._**

**_The effect that Optimus's words have on Bumblebee could not be any more apparent, as the young scout struggles with the reality that has now fallen upon him. New mysteries on the history of Cybertron are revealed to Kira and the others, as the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot forces take on the LOGOS-Eradicon forces in an attack on Heavens Base. What sort of revelations will be had, and when the dust finally settles, what is going through the minds of Shinn and the others as their battle rages on, and what will occur in the aftermath of the battle? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 18: Doubts and Difficulties****_. Destiny, Bumblebee, brace yourselves for the coming future's beginning!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	18. Doubts and Difficulties

_**AN: Okay, so we are back for more once again, and wow the reviews we've gotten from the last chapter! I mean I knew you guys were excited at the thought of the Dinobots showing up, but they haven't even started fighting yet and some of you guys are practically thanking me immensely for finally putting them in the main story.**_

**_Kira: So are we going to answer some of those reviews or just get right to the story?_**

**_AN: Actually I was just getting to that. In response to one of our "Guest" reviews, yes I realize that I'm "shanghaiing" Shinn into staying with the idiot Rey and Z.A.F.T., and that all the changes I've made to his character and the story of SEED Destiny itself have given him little reason to "kill" Athrun, Meyrin, or Kira, but you have to understand that some elements of a story have to stay as they are, at least a little bit, while still being different before they really take a full effect again on the character. If I had just had Shinn up and leave right when Athrun did, I'd honestly feel like I'd be making him take off from Z.A.F.T. with a load of regrets while leaving a lot of people he cares about and wants to protect behind so that they were at the mercy of Sentinel. Rest assured though, Shinn will be taking the real right path this time around, but it'll be a couple of chapters before that officially happens, though you will see the start of that later on in this chapter._**

**_Shinn: Why don't you just tell them that you're planning to have the _Minerva_..._**

**_AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]_**

**_Shinn: [gets hoisted up off the ground by a rope that ties around his legs] WAAAAAAAAAAAAH! HEY GET ME DOWN! SERIOUSLY GET ME DOWN FROM HERE! [begins bouncing up and down on the rope like its a bungee rope]_**

**_AN: Now, where were we?_**

**_Arcee: Um, I think you were going to address the reviews that were asking you to let Optimus live?_**

**_AN: Ah right. I can't really remember off the top of my head if I've addressed this before, but I will say it now, and if I have addressed it before I'll say it again. So long as I write any Transformers fanfiction, I will never, and I mean NEVER, kill off Optimus Prime! He is going to live, okay?! I know that's a bit of a spoiler, but this is one thing I need to make abundantly clear. Unless Optimus was dead at the start of the story for some reason, like it follows on from the aftermath of Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising, I will never have a dead Optimus Prime in my story. That is a big no, no for me, and if he is dead at the start of the story, expect him to come back from the dead at some point later on in that story/series._**

**_Cagalli: How about this one from "Ice Wolf Fang"?_**

**_AN: Right, the one that was asking about the plot for the third story in this series. In all honesty, there are actually multiple sub-plots in it, as I pointed out in an earlier chapter when I revealed what would be happening in each of the major story arcs of the third story. But if you're asking about the overall plot of the third story, I'm afraid that you will have to wait until the final chapter of this story to get even a little more of an idea as to what it will be. I want it to be as much of a surprise as possible until that point._**

**_Shinn: SERIOUSLY, COME ON GUYS, GET ME DOWN FROM HERE! [continues bouncing on the rope]_**

**_AN: Well, now that everything important is out of the way..._**

**_Shinn: HELLO! I'M STILL STUCK UP HERE!_**

**_AN: Let's roll out!_**

**_I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Doubts and Difficulties**

The following days after Optimus's revelation to Bumblebee and the others were ones that were normally spent in silence, as no one was entirely sure what to say or even do about the situation they now found themselves in. Naturally, they all did their best to keep busy so that they could distract themselves, but the only problem with that was that every time they caught so much as a glance of Bumblebee, they were always instantly reminded of the situation they now faced. The young scout himself was by far the most silent out of everyone, and if he was not lost in thought in the base while sitting silently next to where Optimus was lying, he was out driving, never saying anything more than where he was going to be driving and that it was to think. Everyone understood what Bumblebee was going through and wanted to help him, but no one was quite sure what to say to him.

Kira, Athrun, Cagalli, and the rest of their friends were actually in the midst of thinking about what to say to Bumblebee when they saw him at the new Autobot base at the moment when the sound of a roaring engine caught everyone's ears. Turning to the entrance, they saw a race car burst into the base that had a mostly blue paint job with yellow and white stripes running up the middle and yellow colors on the doors with a blue number seven near the center of both doors. Upon seeing this vehicle, it was bit obvious who had just come in, but his new look was still a shock, as evident by Arcee's surprised exclamation, "Smokescreen?"

The race car then immediately transformed to reveal the now completely repainted Smokescreen, who's first response to Arcee's exclamation was to whine, "Awww. What gave me away?"

"Tell me he's not serious," Snarl muttered to the others while everyone else just gave the young 'Bot an amused look.

"Where've ya been, kid," Ironhide asked.

"Scanning new war paint," Smokescreen replied with a bit of pride. "I figured I'd follow Bumblebee's lead and change up my appearance a bit so that Sentinel and his team won't recognize me so easily, at least in vehicle mode. Plus, I wanted to show that I've learned the truth and joined up with the real Autobots in some way, and this seemed like the best way to do it at the time. You know, like a kind of symbolic thing."

"Excellent. Now you can show off your new looks and look your best while helping to organize and stack those crates of energon cubes over there," Ratchet then stated flatly as he pointed to said crates.

Smokescreen just sighed in reply and muttered something about being back to being the kid of the team again, which prompted Arcee to walk up to him and say, "Don't let it get to you. I was actually the kid on the team for a little bit after I joined up with Optimus's unit, even though Bumblebee was still the youngest. Eventually though, it ended up going to back to being Bumblebee, but I don't think that ever bothered him that much since he could prove that he wasn't just some kid who couldn't handle himself, so it ended up just being a small joke. Right Bee?" When Arcee received no response she looked over to Bumblebee and asked again, "Right Bee?"

"Huh," Bumblebee suddenly jumped. "Oh, uh…yeah. Right." Arcee just gave him a look that said she was not buying that attempt to cover up the fact he was not listening, and Bumblebee immediately caved as he said, "Sorry, I just…I still can't wrap my processor around it. Why would Optimus rather us use the Forge on the Omega Lock instead of him, especially when there's a likely chance that it won't work?"

"We don't know that, Bee," Elita reminded Bumblebee.

"Maybe, but the chances of that are still there," Swoop reminded, having helped Ratchet study whether or not they would be able to fully restore the Omega Lock with the Forge after Optimus's declaration the other day. Before Swoop could say anymore though, he cringed under the look that Arcee and Elita were both throwing at him and immediately just said, "Shutting up now."

"Don't bother, Swoop," Bumblebee said. "It's still true, and we all know it. What may as well be Optimus's dying request may not be fulfilled, and if this does end up being the end for him, he thinks that I'll be the one to find the answers if it doesn't. Why can't he understand that it makes more sense to use the Forge on him because of that? Better yet, why did everything have to fall so far apart?" Before anyone could answer, Bumblebee had already stood up and transformed saying that he needed air, and then raced out once again.

Athrun could see that Grimlock was likely on the verge of saying that Bumblebee was acting like a coward again, and considering that every time he did, it led to an argument between the Dinobot leader and Cagalli, he felt that he had to intervene. Do not misunderstand, Athrun thought that watching the arguments between the two were just as funny as everyone else did, but considering how often it happened since the Dinobots woke up, it was starting to get more annoying than funny. As a result, Athrun decided to bring up a topic that had been bugging him ever since he heard about it and asked, "Would someone please tell us what the big deal is about this Omega Lock thing? Seriously, we keep hearing it getting mentioned by you guys, but none of you have ever explained what it actually is."

The Autobots all looked among themselves for a minute, all of them feeling a bit stupid for not explaining what the Omega Lock was at least to their human friends and allies before, until Jazz finally explained, "The Omega Lock is a powerful relic that's said to have existed ever since Cybertron first came into being. Whether or not it's actually true though, only the Primes ever knew for certain. According to legend, if Cybertron were ever to begin to suffer possible destruction, the Omega Lock could be used in tandem with the Omega Keys to fully restore Cybertron to life while removing the damage that had already taken place."

"So, it would've been able to do what GENESIS was capable of doing, in other words," Miriallia asked.

"Simply put, yes," Elita replied.

"If that's true, then why didn't you guys use it before when Cybertron was starting to die," Sai asked.

"Two reasons actually," Ironhide told him. "The first was that during the Fall of the Original Thirteen Primes, the Omega Keys had been scattered across the planet by one of the Primes. Some say that it was to keep the Omega Lock and the Keys from being used for evil purposes; others say that it was just to prevent it from ever being used period. No one really knows the real reasons, but without the Omega Keys, the Omega Lock was nothing more than a large, useless artifact."

"The other reason came during the final stages of the war," Ratchet then informed them. "Somehow, Megatron learned of what the Omega Lock was capable of doing, and he was certain that if he acquired the keys, he could use the Omega Lock to cyber-form other worlds, but he also knew that it was the greatest threat to him as well. With this mind, Megatron launched an operation against the Omega Lock in order to destroy it. Zeta Prime led a force in the defense of the Omega Lock, but in the end, Zeta was all that remained of his forces, and the Omega Lock was destroyed by Megatron along with Zeta."

Everyone was silent at this new revelation, but eventually, Cagalli had to raise one point that had been made during the story that they were just told. "Wait a minute," Cagalli spoke up. "If the Omega Keys are scattered across the planet to points that no one knows for certain, and the Omega Lock can't be used without them, then how will using the Forge to restore the Omega Lock help to restore Cybertron?"

"It's possible that the location of the Keys lies within the Matrix of Leadership," Silverbolt answered. "Remember, the Matrix is a vessel that holds the collective wisdom of the past Primes, so if he wanted or needed to, Optimus probably could have used it to discover the location of the Keys."

"Since the Omega Lock was destroyed though, it makes sense that Optimus would never have bothered to see if the Matrix did have that information," Wheeljack then added. "But if the Omega Lock is restored, and the Matrix ends up passed onto someone after Optimus…you know…then there would be a good reason to see if that information is there."

"Don't think that easy," Grimlock suddenly growled. "Seeing if hiding place of keys is in Matrix is long-shot, and in case Autobots forget, Bumble Bot not want Matrix, and being coward when faced with idea of becoming Prime."

As much as everyone wanted to argue with the Dinobot leader, they all knew he had a point in what he said, and they could not help but look from where Optimus was lying to where Bumblebee had just raced off from as they were all immediately reminded of the situation that they and Bumblebee were all currently facing. Seeing that they were all still confused by what should be done about the situation, Grimlock just huffed in annoyance and stomped away, thinking that he would have to be the one to get the message across to Bumblebee soon enough.

* * *

Lunamaria's initial reaction to hearing about what happened to her sister was much like what everyone expected it to be, as she had protested insistently that there was no way Meyrin would have betrayed them like everyone was saying that she had, but when she saw the evidence, the poor girl could barely keep herself contained from breaking down and crying before the soldiers that had wanted to ask her some questions about the matter, not because she was suspected of anything, but because they thought they could understand why Meyrin had done this by talking to her older sister. To her credit, Lunamaria was able to keep her emotions in check for quite a while, until she finally came across Shinn and Rey.

When he first saw Lunamaria, Shinn had expected her to charge up and hit him as she shouted out that she hated him for what he did, but when she did not, Shinn found he could do nothing more than try and walk up to her and whisper how sorry he was for doing it. That ultimately proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back for both of the two pilots, as Lunamaria immediately broke down and sobbed into Shinn's chest while doing nothing to stop Shinn from wrapping her in a hug as he too did the same, both finding reassurance in the sorrow and pain that they were both feeling. Sometime during their little emotional moment, Lunamaria had assured Shinn that she did not hate him for what he had done, but rather, she hated the people who were responsible for driving Athrun and Meyrin to do what they did, and it led to the two of them confiding what they suspected about Sentinel and the chairman's shared agendas to each other.

In the days that followed, everyone had to try and deal with the grief that had come about from the apparent betrayals and deaths of Athrun, Meyrin, and Smokescreen while preparing for the operation to take Heavens Base so that they may finally destroy LOGOS and the Eradicons once and for all, and during this time, Lunamaria was met with another shocking development when she was told that she was going to become the new pilot for the Impulse now that Shinn had transferred over to the Destiny. Naturally she was a bit nervous about the idea of flying the Gundam, but Shinn had assured Lunamaria that he was confident that she could do it.

It was now the day of the attack on Heavens Base, and Shinn and Lunamaria were both waiting in the pilot ready room for the other _Minerva_ pilots to finish changing into their suits and for the call to prepare for action, while the ship took to the forefront of the fleet that had now gathered at the outside of the Alliance base as the flagship. As they continued to wait, Lunamaria felt the need to ask once again, "The Impulse is an incredible machine, as expected of a Gundam class mobile suit, but do you really think I can handle it like you do Shinn?"

Shinn glanced at the girl in shock for only a minute before he finally placed his free hand on her shoulder and softly said, "You'll handle it just fine, Luna, but don't try to handle it like I did. Just handle it the best you can in the way that you would do it. That's all that anyone can really ask you to do, and that's all you have to ask yourself to do."

Lunamaria just looked at Shinn for a minute before she gave a sad smile and commented, "You know, you actually sounded a bit like Athrun just then. I'm pretty sure that's a lot like something he would've said."

"Yeah, I guess so," Shinn replied with a sad smile of his own. "He was the one who actually clued me in to what was really going on, you know, or at least what he suspected was going on."

"Yeah, I think he did that for both of us," Lunamaria replied in remembrance of when she was following Athrun when he met with the members of the _Archangel_-Autobots. She did not know why, but she had recently developed a feeling that Athrun had known that she was following him the whole time and had somehow sent her a secret message in the conversation about what was really going on, but considering how she was at the time Lunamaria did not understand it until now. "Either way, I think this operation will prove whether or not those suspicions are well placed."

Shinn nodded in agreement before he asked, "Who else do you think knows?"

Lunamaria just shrugged as she replied, "Probably Yzak and Dearka, since they were so close to Athrun, and maybe Heine. The captain might suspect something is wrong, but I get the feeling that Rey knows everything and is okay with it for some weird reason."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Shinn agreed. "But we shouldn't try to approach anyone just yet. If we're wrong, we might end up in a worse situation than Athrun, Smokescreen, and Meyrin did. I…I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, Luna."

Lunamaria was stunned by those last words, and when she looked at Shinn, she could see an honest look in his eyes along with a loving smile. At that point, Lunamaria felt she could no longer hold it in and dropped her helmet so that she could wrap her arms around Shinn and press her lips to his in a surprise kiss. Shinn's eyes had widened in shock at this sudden display of affection for a few seconds, but when he felt how strong Lunamaria's feelings were for him through that kiss, he immediately wrapped his arms around her as well and returned her kiss in full. When they finally broke apart, the two could only stare at one and other in mild surprise and loving care with mild blushes on their faces, until Lunamaria finally said, "I couldn't bear the thought of losing you either Shinn, and that's because of something I should've told you a long time ago. I…I love you."

Shinn's eyes widened for a second once again before he smiled at the young woman before him and softly replied, "I love you too." With that, Shinn instantly captured Lunamaria in another kiss that they held until the announcement for them to standby in their machines finally went out. As Lunamaria picked up her helmet, Shinn also added, "Don't worry about the Impulse, Luna. I once swore that I would protect everyone, especially those close to me, and now I'm giving you a promise of a lifetime that I will protect you with everything I have, no matter what."

Lunamaria just smiled at Shinn lovingly, touched by how much he cared before she finally said, "In that case, I'm promising to do the same for you in the same way."

They both then nodded to each other and headed for the elevator so that they could board their machines, when someone suddenly said, "Well, it's about damn time!" The new couple instantly spun around to see Dearka and the others all smiling at them knowingly as the blonde continued by saying, "To be honest though, you could've picked a better time to confess. I mean seriously, we're about to go into a major battle and you chose now to confess to each other? Please tell me you don't plan to propose to her one day in the same way Shinn."

"Sh-shut up Dearka," Shinn shouted as his face turned as crimson as his eyes along with Lunamaria's. When Yzak and Heine both just laughed in response to their embarrassment, Shinn just spun around and huffed, "Let's just get going already."

* * *

It was about two or three hours until the deadline that Durandal and Sentinel had given the Alliance to surrender, and there had still been no word thus far. As everyone aboard all the ships that were part of the joint campaign continued to wait with baited breath, they were all finding themselves starting to think that they would eventually end up launching the attack on Heavens Base, but that decision was quickly taken out of their hands. A few minutes after the _Minerva_ pilots had boarded their machines and Sentinel had all the 'Bots that would be on the frontlines with mobile suits geared up with the basic flight-tech modulators that he had once used and then mass produced somehow, the ships all detected an incoming missile attack from Heavens Base.

Everyone was naturally shocked by this development, and that shock continued to grow as the Alliance base began sending out mobile suit and mobile armor forces against them, along with nearly all of the remaining Eradicons except for Astrotrain and Lockdown soon after. Knowing that a battle was now unavoidable, Durandal had immediately given the order for their forces to begin their assault, and soon enough, all the allied ships had sent out all of their forces save for Sentinel's main team and the six Gundams on the _Minerva_. A few minutes after, the descent pods that were carrying several Z.A.F.T. mobile suits began to drop from space, and everyone felt certain that this would help turn the tide a bit until a large cannon extended up from somewhere on the shoreline of Heavens Base and fired a massive beam that destroyed the descent teams in an instant.

This shook everyone up a great deal as they could all see just how great a force of monsters that LOGOS and the Eradicons truly were now, and this was easily emphasized by the fact that their enemies were bearing down on them with five Destroy Gundams, who were tearing through their forces like a knife through butter. Seeing this and hearing the news of what happened to the descent teams had finally pushed Shinn over the edge, and he immediately called up to the bridge demanding, "Captain Gladys, we're ready. Just give us the order and we'll handle it. We can't let them get away with this."

Talia was about to protest until Sentinel interrupted and said, "Shinn is correct. We have already had to watch as the Alliance openly attacked us without any response to our warnings or any word of intentions at all, and we have lost good men, women, and 'Bots in the process. We cannot allow such atrocities to continue any longer."

Talia still wanted to argue, but found her arguments dying in her throat when Durandal simply told her to send Shinn and the others out. Talia could only look at Durandal in shock for a moment, and in that moment she found herself thinking over how different Gilbert Durandal had been since his speech, all leading her to conclude that this was most assuredly not the man that she had once fallen in love with, no matter how much he seemed to be. After finally deciding to deal with that matter at another time, Talia turned her attention to her team of Gundam pilots and ordered, "Destiny, Legend, Impulse, Blu Duel, Verde Buster, and Savior! Launch immediately!"

"Yes ma'am," the six pilots immediately chorused in reply.

A minute after hearing the order, Shinn's new mobile suit was immediately brought onto the launch deck, and Shinn could not help but feel a bit strange launching from one of the normal launch pads instead of the one that the Core Splendor used. After receiving clearance though, Shinn shook it off and shouted, "Shinn Asuka, Destiny. Launching!"

His declaration was immediately followed up by the rest of the Gundam pilots as they gave out their cries as well. "Rey Za Burrel in Legend. Taking off!"

"Lunamaria Hawke, Core Splendor! I'm taking off!"

"Yzak Joule in the Blu Duel. Launching now!"

"Dearka Elsman, Verde Buster. Heading out!"

"Heine Westenfluss, Savior. Let's fly!"

The minute the Gundam pilots were all clear of their ship and the Impulse had come together with the Force Silhouette, Sentinel turned to his team and shouted, "Autobots roll out!"

A minute later, all of the Autobots from the _Xanthium_ were blasting onto the battlefield with the exception of Blaster and his Mini-Cons, and the minute they were all flying alongside the Gundams, Yzak decided to try something out that he had been meaning to for a while now. "Gundam pilots blast into action!"

The response was a shared groan from all the other pilots of said machines. "What was that," Shinn ended up having to ask.

"Seriously man, please tell me that's _not_ what you're going with as a battle cry," Dearka begged his friend.

"Shut up! I'm working on it," Yzak immediately protested.

"Well you should probably work on it some more later," Rey interrupted. "We've got incoming!"

With Rey's reminder of the situation, the two teams immediately began their assault on both the Alliance forces and the Eradicons, as Sentinel and the other four members of his inner circle engaged most of the major Eradicons, while the other Autobots engaged most of the drones, and Shinn, Rey, and Yzak moved to fight against the Destroys. The result was the main focus of the battle shifting onto the Autobot aces and six Gundams, which no one seemed to mind as the two teams were able to tear apart any opponent who dared to cross them, eventually leading the Destiny to even take out one of the Destroys with is Beam Sword and Palm Beam Cannons. The destruction of this first Destroy was soon followed up by Mirage tearing through Cyclonus, and silencing the cackling Eradicon as he fell from the sky and into the ocean waters bellow.

As evidenced by the actions of the Destiny and Mirage, the battle had quickly turned in the favor of the Autobot-Z.A.F.T. Forces and their allies, and soon enough Lunamaria had shot down a number of enemies before she finally called out, "I'll open up a path! All mobile suits and any available Autobots form up on me!"

"I've got your back, Lunamaria," Heine called out as he flew the Savior up in its mobile armor mode so that he was right next to the combining Gundam.

Lunamaria was about to thank Heine when she spotted a small squadron of Eradicon drones preparing to fire at him, but before she could shout any form of warning, a sudden barrage of beam and energon blasts tore through them. Looking to the source, Lunamaria and Heine could see Crosshairs and the Verde Buster with their respective weapons primed and continuing to fire on any enemies that tried to approach them as Dearka shouted, "Keep going you guys! We'll cover you!"

"You heard the sharp shooter," Crosshairs added as he fired his pistols on any Eradicon or mobile suit that dared to try and approach the Impulse or the Savior. "Go on and leave them to us!"

"Thanks Dearka, Crosshairs," Lunamaria finally said, and she then blasted forward alongside the Savior with a team of Autobot drones and mobile suits right behind them.

Dearka continued to fire the Verde Buster's shoulder mounted weapons and beam rifles as he called out, "How're you guys holding up, Yzak?"

"Could be better," Yzak grunted when he had to pull the Blu Duel out of one Destroy's line of fire at the last minute. "But the good news is that it seems that there aren't any more of these things."

"I would not be so sure of that Human Yzak," Mirage suddenly commented, and everyone then turned to see that some more Destroys had suddenly appeared and begun heading towards the battlefield.

"Damn it! How many of these things did LOGOS make," Yzak shouted, but his moment of complaining had caused him to just miss Thrust moving to fire on him until it was nearly too late. Yzak was just bracing himself for the impact of Thrust's attack when a silver blur suddenly flashed through his vision and seemed to slash the missile apart. Yzak glanced around for a minute thinking that Blur had just saved him, but when he saw that Blur was further up and fighting against some Eradicon drones, he immediately began to feel confused and wondered who else could possibly have intercepted those missiles.

The answer came rather quickly when a sleek, Cybertronian like speeder jet suddenly rocketed across the sky and fired on Thrust with incredible, pin-point accuracy, driving the Eradicon tactician away for a minute. Before Yzak even had a chance to ask who was even flying the jet, a sudden barrage of energon lasers came flying down on the approaching Destroys as some of the other Eradicon drones were suddenly caught in a web like substance long enough for what appeared to be giant, metal bugs to tear through them. Looking to the source, everyone's eyes instantly widened in horror when they saw the familiar sight of a small squadron of Decepticon ships that were much like the _Havoc_ that once fought alongside Z.A.F.T. in the last war, and they were then shocked to see Starscream come out of one ship and cry out, "Decepticons, destroy the Eradicons and their allies at once! Transform and rise up!"

The effect was instant, as the Decepticons who had survived the Battle of Jachin Due were suddenly bursting onto the scene with the Constructicons even combining into Devastator and the Combaticons combining into Bruticus as they came. Everyone who stood with the Z.A.F.T.-Autobots had braced themselves for an attack on them after they had finished with the Eradicons, but to the surprise of nearly everyone except for Sentinel and his inner circle, it seemed that Starscream's forces were not even bothering to glance their way. Eventually, Yzak could no longer take being ignored by the Autobots' sworn enemy and immediately charged forward to meet a familiar, female Seeker as he shouted, "What the hell is this?! What do you think you're doing here you bastards?!"

"Nice to see you too, Yzak," Slipstream commented dryly as she slashed apart an Eradicon drone.

Airachnid then suddenly landed on her spider legs near the Verde Buster and Crosshairs and fired at the enemies who were approaching them as she said, "Relax, will you? We're not here to fight you. We're on your side."

"What's that supposed to mean," Dearka demanded as he prepared to aim his shoulder guns at the spider-like Decepticon.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Sentinel suddenly called out. "Attention all allied forces, this is Sentinel Prime. Do not attempt to engage the Decepticons! They are our allies. I repeat, they are not our enemies, they are allies. I know many of you are doubtful of this given what they had done in the past, but after speaking with their new leader, Lord Starscream, I was able to secure a peace treaty with his forces, and they now fight alongside us for the same reasons as we are fighting for today."

Everyone was just as unsure of fighting with the Decepticons as Sentinel had admitted to guessing they would be, but most of them were quick to shrug it off and continue fighting while others, like Yzak, Dearka, Heine, Shinn, and Lunamaria, simply filed the detail away for later before continuing the battle as well. As a result, the battle's favor immediately grew to remain with the Z.A.F.T.-Autobots and their allies for the remainder of the battle, as the added addition of Starscream and the Decepticons was quick to allow them to swiftly deal with many of the LOGOS-Eradicon forces.

This was immediately made evident when the Savior, Thundercracker, Springer, Skywarp, and Blackout took down a number of enemy mobile suits and mobile armors while also simultaneously blasting Crumplezone apart until there was nothing left of him but his torn apart body. Upon seeing this, Demolisher was quick to open fire on the five when suddenly the Impulse shot up before him and slashed at him with all its might using its beam saber. Demolisher had naturally backed up in response, but he was immediately hit on his left when the same speeder jet that had saved Yzak rammed into him after transforming into a silver motorcycle. The now obvious triple changer then assumed his robot mode and whipped out a pair of blades from his arms that he used to slice apart the cannons on Demolisher's shoulders before the Decepticon could even blink. When he finally fell to the ground and got a good look at the triple changer who attacked him, Demolisher immediately gasped, "Quicksilver?! But I thought you had flown off to…"

"I did, but now, I've returned to serve Master Starscream," Quicksilver replied as he aimed his trusty blaster at the Eradicon and fired, knocking Demolisher into the same watery grave that Cyclonus had fallen into just a mere few moments ago with the blast. "Good riddance to treacherous scum," Quicksilver then muttered before transforming into his cycle mode again and racing off to his next target at incredible speeds that would cause one to think that only Blur could surpass.

After he tore through one of the three remaining Destroys and saw that the battle was nearing its end, Shinn looked to the Impulse and shouted out, "Luna, switch to the sword! Use the Excalibur and have Yzak do the same."

"Roger that," Lunamaria replied, and she immediately did as Shinn asked and re-equipped the Impulse with the Sword Silhouette just before tossing one of its blades to the Blu Duel. The two Gundams then charged in along with Chromia, Slipstream, Scattershot, and Breakdown, and tore through one of the last two Destroy's shields, before Lunamaria delivered the final blow with the Impulse's beam boomerangs.

"Nice work, Lunamaria," Yzak commented.

"Hey, did you forget," Lunamaria asked rhetorically. "I earned this red uniform just as much as everyone else did."

"And it seems you've now earned yourself a place among us Gundam pilots as well," Dearka then commented as the Verde Buster flew up to them with the Savior and Crosshairs not far behind.

* * *

As he had continued to watch the battle unfold, Djibril could tell that they were obviously not going to last much longer, and with only a few of his own forces remaining, Lockdown had decided that the two of them should beat a hasty retreat while the other LOGOS members had their attention focused solely on the battle before them. As a result, no one seemed to notice when Thrust, Sideways, and the Stunticons suddenly retreated from the battlefield and boarded Astrotrain's space shuttle mode with Djibril and their leader until after it was too late.

"How could this have gone so wrong, damn it," Djibril demanded as he slammed his fist on one of the armrests of his chair.

"Hey, easy! I'm not some cheap, human transport you know," Astrotrain shouted in protest.

"Even I must admit to being surprised by what had happened," Lockdown confessed. "I never imagined that the Decepticons would suddenly join the fight against us in the way that they had, let alone doing so now that Starscream is leading them."

"I assure you both sirs, this is nothing more than a minor setback," Thrust immediately told the two leaders. "Not to worry though, I'm certain that with what is being planned on the moon base, we'll end these foolish efforts once and for all."

"Silence," Lockdown shouted as Astrotrain began to take off. "Did I say that anyone was worried, Squid Head?! The Decepticons are nothing more than mere flies against us without Megatron now that we know they are here to fight against us!"

"Of course, sir. Forgive me for ever assuming otherwise," Thrust immediately apologized as he assumed his own seat just as Astrotrain had blasted into the air and away from Heavens Base, right when the Destiny and Sentinel had torn apart the last of the Destroys.

* * *

A few hours later, the Alliance Forces were waving a white flag in surrender, and upon confirming said surrender, the Z.A.F.T.-Autobots and their allies immediately began to move in and arrest the LOGOS members who were present while also confirming who was dead or injured among their own forces, the Alliance Forces, and the Eradicons. While they were unable to locate the remains of Cyclonus and Demolisher, due to the both of them having fallen into the ocean when they were taken out, they did confirm that both Crumplezone and Bonecrusher had fallen in battle, and had soon enough confirmed that Djibril had fled from the battle with Lockdown and the rest of the Eradicons just before the base had surrendered. When they learned of this, naturally Sentinel and the _Minerva_ pilots were furious, but it came as a shock to everyone that Durandal did not seem all that worried about it and seemed to just wave it off like some bad weather.

This fact was filed away for further discussion by those who were suspicious of the chairman and Sentinel Prime, as at that very moment, everything had come to a sudden pause when the Decepticon ships had landed and Starscream and his forces approached Sentinel and the forces of the _Xanthium_. Everyone was immediately tense, as they were all uncertain of what would happen now that the battle was over, and were feeling that a battle with the Decepticons was about to break out at any second, but to their surprise, no such thing ever happened. The moment that Starscream and Sentinel had finally approached each other, the eldest Seeker Sibling simply held out his hand, which Sentinel then accepted in a handshake, prompting the reporters that had covered the entire battle to immediately begin filming and photographing the moment for all to see.

When he noticed the attention the action had gained them, Sentinel turned his head to everyone gathered before them and announced, "Let this be a sign and a symbol of both the Earth and the universe going forward, as two factions of Cybertron, who had been fighting each other for Eons finally end all hostilities in order to pave a new path to peace and eliminate the greatest threats that we have ever known! Today, all hostilities between Autobots and Decepticons have come to an end, and our war has now at last reached its conclusion!"

Starscream barely repressed a smirk in response to this, as he then addressed the people saying, "People of Earth and beyond, I cannot begin to tell you how much we regret the actions we took under the tyranny of our former lord and master, Megatron, but I assure you that so long as I, Starscream, command the Decepticons, we will do nothing more than whatever we can to rebuild the broken bridges between ourselves and our Autobot brothers and sisters so that we may assist them in ending all forms of war that plague our world and all those worlds beyond our own, including your own lovely home planet."

For a brief moment, there was stunned, tense silence until eventually, one person began clapping, and then another, and another, and then eventually even more, until everyone on the remains of the battlefield and a majority of those who had been watching from their homes had joined in the grand applause that had erupted in response to Sentinel and Starscream's claims. Despite the nobility of the words the two had spoken though, and the response by the masses that had heard this, there were still those who greatly doubted what the two had said, even among the people who were gathered on the remains of the battlefield.

* * *

That night when the _Xanthium_ and the _Minerva_ were beginning their return trip to Gibraltar alongside the rest of the fleet and their new Decepticon allies, Shinn was moving quietly through the corridors to Athrun's old cabin to meet with Lunamaria. This was not because of what one would usually think this would mean, but rather because he wanted to talk with Lunamaria about what had happened at the end of the previous battle and what would happen going forward without anyone overhearing, and since he had secretly found out from Athrun that the veteran pilot's cabin was both protected against anyone who might overhear them and still not given to someone else, it seemed like the best place for them to do so. When Shinn finally arrived at Athrun's former quarters, he found not only Lunamaria waiting there, but Yzak, Dearka, Heine, and even Captain Gladys as well.

"Uh, this isn't what you might be thinking it is," Shinn tried to say, lamely.

"Relax kid, and get in here already," Dearka immediately waved him off before pulling him inside and slamming the door shut. "We all know why you and Lunamaria are both here, because it's the same reason we're all here. We all know that something's messed up with Sentinel and his goals."

"Really," Shinn asked in surprise as he glanced at everyone in the room. "How long have all of you known about it?"

"I've known since the earliest of Athrun's final days with the ship before we arrived in Gibraltar," Heine explained. "He had given me a few hints on the matter just before you and Lunamaria showed up to tell us about that girl, Stella, and I pieced it together after the chairman and Sentinel's announcement."

Shinn then turned to his captain, and Talia immediately admitted, "I've had a feeling since Athrun started acting differently before Operation: Omega Angel Fall, and our recent meetings with Chairman Durandal, or whoever that man is, cemented those feelings."

"And before you even ask, Dearka and I knew the whole time, just like how we know something else as well," Yzak then added. When he saw that he now had the attention of everyone in the room other than Dearka, who already knew, Yzak then revealed, "The _Archangel_ and _Omega II_ are still out there, alive and well."

"Are you sure about that," Talia gasped.

"Oh definitely," Dearka confirmed. "And I get the feeling that the next battle we fight, we'll be encountering them again pretty quickly."

"And that's why we need to start making plans on how we respond to that," Heine then finished.

"What do you mean," Lunamaria asked.

When the three veterans of the small gathering gave Lunamaria, Shinn, and the captain a knowing look, Talia was the first to catch on and immediately said, "What you're suggesting would be mutiny, you know."

"It's not exactly mutiny when you're taking your ship back from the bastards who seized it right out from under you," Yzak then argued. "Besides, if I'm going to fight for a world of peace, I'd rather do it the right way instead of the way that Sentinel and whoever that guy pretending to be Durandal is having us do it. So who's in?"

Dearka and Heine both immediately agreed with Talia doing the same after hesitating for a minute, which left only Shinn and Lunamaria to decide what they would do. The two merely shared a look between them for a few seconds before they finally nodded to each other and turned to Yzak and said, "We're in."

Yzak immediately smirked in response and then began taking the lead on forming the plans that they would be carrying out when the time finally came, making sure that everyone fully understood each of their respective roles and the signs that would signal when they should start commencing said roles as he did. The whole time they were discussing this, Shinn could not help but feel as if the weight of the blood that was now on his hands was beginning to lift as it showed that he was finally going down the right path in his own personal goals and dreams.

* * *

During that same late hour, Demolisher and Cyclonus had managed to finally drag their broken bodies to the edge of the shore that was once the shoreline of Heavens Base, panting from both exhaustion and pain as their entire bodies ached greatly from the injuries they had received. The two knew they were dying, but that did not stop them from doing whatever they could to ensure their own survival, and they did not care what it took or what the consequences would be, because they were determined to not die that day. As they laid on the shore for a few more minutes, silently begging for someone to save them and repeating their promise to do anything in exchange over and over again, a massive, dark shadow was suddenly cast over them, and the two looked up to find a horrifying sight before them as a massive, familiar being now stood before them.

"You," Cyclonus whispered, weakly. "But…I thought…you were…"

"I was," the figure replied in a horse, deep, menacing, and familiar voice. "But as you can see, I have returned, reborn and stronger than ever." The figure then glared down at the two with dark, reddish purple optics as he then added, "Such disgraceful beings to my forces you both are. I should end you here and now."

"No, please," Demolisher then begged. "We'll do anything you ask of us! Just please don't kill us or leave us here to die!"

The figure paused for a moment before he let out a deep, dark chuckle and asked, "Anything?" When both Eradicons eagerly nodded in reply, the figure then said, "Swear your loyalty to me and me alone, and not only shall I spare your lives, but I will remake you more powerful than ever."

"Yes, yes! We'll do it," Cyclonus and Demolisher then both said.

The figure then raised his left hand up and a burst of purple lightning arched out and struck the two Eradicons. As the two screamed out in pain, their armor began to reform almost as if it were healing itself and then reformatted until their colors had even changed. Demolisher's old silver and green colors had quickly become replaced by tan and red, and Cyclonus's old light blue colors turned white and black. The final change in the two was when the Eradicon sigils began to alter themselves until they finally changed into their original Decepticon sigils. The minute the changes were completed, the two stood up and looked over their new forms before turning to their new lord and master and then kneeling before him as they chorused, "We live to serve you…Lord Megatron."

The figure that the two had addressed as Megatron then chuckled once again as he turned to face the remains of Bonecrusher, and immediately held out his hand once more as he gave the former Constructicon the same treatment that he had bestowed upon Cyclonus and Demolisher, with the main difference being that he was reverted to his original form from back when he was still with the Constructicons. After receiving the same promise of loyalty from Bonecrusher as well, the figure then gestured for the three to follow them as he said, "Let us make our way to the nearest port so that we may secure a Decepticon transport that will take us to where the _Nemesis_ had retreated to after the fall of GENESIS and Jachin Due. Oh and one other thing, my name is no longer Megatron."

The three looked between themselves in confusion for a minute but then just shrugged it off and decided to ask later as Demolisher asked, "Where exactly are we going, my lord?"

The large figure who resembled Megatron so greatly merely smirked with glee as he replied, "We are going to the planet Chaar."

* * *

Sometime during all that had happened that day, Lacus had sent a two-man team from the _Eternal_ to the remains of the Mendel colony after discovering that both Durandal and Sentinel had once used it and the facilities it housed in the past at some point, in the hopes of discovering a few more pieces of the puzzle that would finally tell them what the two were planning. That team of two consisted of none other than DaCosta and Flay Allster, and the two were shocked to discover that the nearly the entire genetics research facilities were completely cleaned out. Still, they had elected to continue searching for as long as they could until Flay finally stumbled upon what appeared to be a small, Cybertronian data pad. Upon activating the tab and viewing the files stored on it, Flay had immediately gasped in shock before she turned to DaCosta and said, "Mister DaCosta, I think you might want to take a look at this!"

DaCosta immediately floated over with a pair of file folders in hand, and when Flay had handed him the data pad to see what was on it, his reaction was exactly the same as Flay's. "What does this mean," Flay finally asked.

DaCosta's expression had immediately turned grim as he told the red head, "It means that not only did we find what we were looking for, but we now know just how big a problem we really have. We need to get this information to the commander and Miss Lacus as soon as possible."

Flay nodded in understanding and then took the data pad and file folders from DaCosta as she said, "I'll get these back to the shuttle and prepare it for departure. You get whatever else we might need and meet me there."

"Got it," DaCosta replied. "I'll try not to take too long."

A few minutes later, the two had boarded their shuttle once again and were preparing to head back to the _Eternal_, at which point DaCosta had to ask, "So, how's that Amalfi guy been lately?"

Flay just blushed until her face offset her hair a bit before she replied, "Is this really the time to be asking about that?"

The two continued to talk among themselves in such a manner as they continued on their journey back to their ship, never once noticing the Z.A.F.T. mobile suit and Autobot drone that had been watching the colony and ended up spotting their shuttle as they left.

* * *

**_AN: So, now you know the full story behind the Omega Lock in my story, or at least the full summary of that story, and Bumblebee doesn't seem to be doing much better either._**

**_Shinn: HELLO! I STILL NEED YOU GUYS TO GET ME DOWN!_**

**_AN: One moment. [duck tapes Shinn's mouth shut so that we can continue without interruption] As I was saying, Heavens Base is gone along with a few more Eradicons, and Starscream and the Decepticons have finally stepped into the light, but it looks like Shinn's not the only one who's wary of Sentinel and his team's plans. How many of you didn't expect me to throw Captain Gladys into the secret that Yzak and Dearka know about?_**

**_Ironhide: Uh, about that little moment there with the "Megatron-look-a-like" and those three Eradicons-turned-Decepticons, if that wasn't Megatron, then was that who I think it was?_**

**_AN: Normally I'd say that you'd have to wait and see, but in all honesty, I don't think it's hard to figure out who it is. Now if there's nothing else to address, Onto the preview!..._**

**_ The forces of the _****Archangel_-Autobots and the _Eternal_ learn of the results of the attack on Heavens Base, which now cements everyone's beliefs that Orb will likely be Sentinel and Durandal's next target. In the aftermath of this revelation, Lacus and the others on the _Eternal_ discover the startling secrets that DaCosta and Flay had found on their mission to the Mendel Colony, but soon find themselves under attack. When Kira learns of this, he's quick to jump back into action so that he can do whatever he can to save Lacus, which lead him to regain his lost wings. During this time, Bumblebee's attitude towards the possibility of his becoming a Prime should Optimus finally pass finally causes Grimlock to take action, which is soon followed up on by the rest of the Autobots from Team Optimus. What does it truly take for warriors to rise up to the challenges they now face before they become stronger and find themselves ready for them? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_Chapter 19: Rebirth of Warriors_. Freedom, Bumblebee, rediscover your power so that you may charge forth once more!_**

**_Well I guess that's a wrap for now._**

**_Shinn: [pulls off duck tape] Wait. You can't just leave me dangling here!_**

**_AN: Sure I can. I'm the author. I can also kill you off in the next chapter if I feel like it. Yeah, I that major bad ass you don't cross. So, anyone wanna go get some pizza?_**

**_Kira: I'm in._**

**_Cagalli: Same here._**

**_Athrun: I could go for a slice._**

**_Optimus: Wait for us._**

**_[Everyone but Shinn begins leaving]_**

**_Shinn: Wait! WAIT! YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE ME DANGLING HERE! GUYS! COME ON! DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!_**

**_AN: Oh before I forget..._**

**_Please read and review, and I'll you see next time._**

**_Shinn: NO GUYS, COME ON! DON'T LEAVE ME DANGLING FROM THIS ROPE LIKE THIS! GUYS, PLEASE!_**


	19. Rebirth of Warriors

_**AN: Hey, we back, and it if you're expecting some more action from team **_**Minerva_, then I'm gonna have to disappoint, cause this chapter is completely focused on the guys from Team _Archangel_-Autobots, especially in the case of a particular two characters._**

**_Kira: Hey, has anyone seen Shinn?_**

**_AN: Uh...in other facts and news of this story, I know this is a little late, but a big thank you shout out to "Czar Joseph" for suggesting the idea of using Sakura from Naruto in a previous Authors Note in order to prevent spoilers, and to all you guys out there who've been giving me such glowing, amazing, and probably a little over the top reviews (seriously, you guys are just too nice to me) thanks for showing such great love for the work I've put into this little adventure._**

**_Luna: Seriously, where's Shinn?_**

**_AN: MOVING ON to another review that I was unable to answer last chapter, from "CBOperative4", good to know you're happy that Sai's back in action for this story, but no Kuzzey will not be returning to the team. As Sai had said in the Gundam SEED series, Kuzzey's too nice for that kind of life, and he mainly stuck around just because everyone else was for the most part. As for your question about Nemesis Prime, no he did not speak, he got blown up. Sorry both to you and anyone else who was expecting Nemesis Prime to show up, but the whole Project: Nemesis thing was only meant to serve one major purpose in this story plot wise, and it had nothing to do with Nemesis Prime._**

**_Cagalli: Are you just going to ignore us the whole time, or are you going to tell us where Shinn..._**

**_AN: AND on a final note, if you're wondering about the new appearances of Demolisher and Cyclonus,well you as you may have noted, or as I stated before, Demolisher looked like how he did at the start of Transformers Energon, while Cyclonus looked like he did during Transformers Armada. All you have to do to visualize their new looks is swap those around, and the result is Cyclonus as he was at the start of Transformers Energon, and Demolisher as he was at the beginning of Transformers Armada. Now if there's nothing else, let's get a_**

**_Everyone but AN: WHERE'S SHINN?!_**

**_AN: Weren't you guys paying any attention? I said this chapter did not have Shinn and the others in this chapter...Plus he might possibly still be tied up where we left him after the last chapter, most likely...hehe._**

**_Luna: I'll go get him down. [walks out and slams the door with loud bang that shakes the room]_**

**_AN: Hey watch it! You could've knocked something over in this place doing that! [huffs in annoyance] Anyways, as I was saying, let's roll out!_**

**_I do not own anything from any of either of the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Rebirth of Warriors**

When Lacus had received word that Heavens Base had fallen so quickly, she was quick to realize that Orb would likely be the next target of attack. When Waltfeld had asked why she thought this, Lacus immediately explained that while Orb was a strong nation with power and ideals, to Sentinel and the chairman it was merely a major obstacle to be overcome. Lacus also admitted that she was beginning to think that Sentinel and the chairman's plan was designed so that they could create some form of new world order with the PLANTs and Earth under their rule, and that the current world upheaval was nothing more than the foundations for that undertaking. Naturally, such news was shocking to hear, but they did not realize that they were about to be receiving even more shocking news when Aisha announced Flay and DaCosta's ship was returning from their mission.

When the two finally entered the ship, they had immediately headed for the bridge to meet with Lacus and the other two commanders of the pink ship. "Well that was a tedious little trip," Flay stated flatly. "There wasn't any air in the colony and it was so run down that an old car that had seen better days would've looked better."

DaCosta agreed with this, but still gave a small cough to keep things on track as he opened the brief case they had stored the items they found in. "For some reason though, the genetic research lab was cleaned out, including all the data and everything else," DaCosta explained as he pulled out the data pad Flay had found and the file folders he had found. "Except for these. You should probably take a look at both of them. The file folder contains information that looks like it was written by one of Durandal's fellow researchers at the time, but the information on the data pad definitely looks like something that was done recently, and by an Autobot scientist."

Lacus and the other two were quick to look over the information in the file folder, and immediately gasped in mild surprise at what was written out before them. "At first glance, Durandal's Destiny Plan seems like it could truly alter the age we live in for the better," Waltfeld observed aloud.

"Maybe, but we shouldn't forget good common sense," Aisha argued. "People do not live their lives to serve the world around them. The world is a place for people to live their lives as they see fit."

"I get the feeling that the chairman may not even get the chance to implement the Destiny Plan, at least in the way it was originally intended," Flay suddenly cut in.

"What do you mean Flay," Lacus asked.

"Just take a look at the data pad, and you'll see what I mean," Flay replied as she indicated said pad.

Lacus immediately began skimming through the information on the data pad with Aisha and Waltfeld, and what they found was something they considered even more shocking than the Destiny Plan. "The Pretender Program," Aisha read aloud.

"I'm not much of an expert on machinery, computers, or even genetics like Kira, Sai, or any of our other friends," Flay admitted. "But even I can understand enough of what's there to know what it means. With this thing, Sentinel would have absolute control over anyone he wanted to have control over. All he would have to do is utilize this program on a leader of any kind, and any nation, military, business, or anything else you can think of would be under his thumb."

"You're right," Waltfeld confirmed. "And he's likely already done so with Durandal."

"You mean that," Lacus gasped.

"Yes," Waltfeld nodded. "The real chairman isn't the one who we've been seeing lately and the Destiny Plan…"

Waltfeld was immediately interrupted when the alarms suddenly went off, grabbing everyone's attention as the monitor displayed exactly what had raised the alert. "A reconnaissance GINN and an Autobot Cloaker," DaCosta exclaimed.

"They must've been tailing us from somewhere without us noticing," Flay exclaimed.

"I'll deal with it," Waltfeld declared. "Get my Gaia ready!"

"Mister Waltfeld, wait a minute," Lacus called out. "The damage is already done. If they've trailed us this far, then its mother ship can't be that far away." Waltfeld did not want to admit it, but Lacus did have a point, but it still did not explain where they had come from. At least, until Lacus thought of the reason. "They must've been keeping the Mendel Colony under observation. That was careless of me."

"Lacus don't be ridiculous," Flay immediately protested. "It wasn't your fault. DaCosta and I were the ones who weren't careful enough to make sure that we weren't being followed and then brought them here."

"Assigning blame can wait till later," Waltfeld then interrupted before anyone else could try to take the blame for this. "The real problem is what we do now. The machines here at the factory are still undergoing final adjustments, and if they attack us now, we'll be virtually defenseless."

"We need to get the ship out of here immediately," Lacus decided.

"Head out," Aisha exclaimed. "They'll be sure to see us then."

"They'll see us either way," Lacus then pointed out. "That's why we need to get into the best position possible before they launch their attack."

"Yeah, but at this point the _Eternal_ isn't equipped to deal with even a single Nazca class ship," Waltfeld reminded Lacus. "We don't stand a chance of winning."

"I'm not trying to win this battle, I'm trying to protect," Lacus then revealed. "You see, we need to protect the people here at the factory who worked to help us and these notes. Leaving right now will draw the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot Forces after us. This will give the factory time to come up with a contingency plan. In the worst case, we'll flee into a descent orbit, and send the two machines and the documents down to the _Omega II_ and the _Archangel_."

Waltfeld only paused for a minute before he finally smirked and agreed to Lacus's plan, and he then moved to give out orders while everyone else moved to their stations. A matter of minutes later, the ship had discarded the camouflage it was using and the _Eternal_ was blasting away at its maximum possible speed. As they received word of additional Nazca class ships joining in the pursuit of their ship and sending out mobile suits, Lacus began to give a silent prayer for all those they were protecting by doing this, and for those who had voluntarily risked their lives like this so that they could keep up the fight for the future.

* * *

Down on Earth, everyone was going about what had become their daily routines and jobs when they received a message from the _Eternal_ that instantly put everyone on edge even as they raced to the Autobot base, where Ratchet was explaining the full details of the message to everyone. "I don't know the exact strength of their pursuit force," Ratchet admitted. "But they are saying that if they cannot escape their pursuers, they'll be sending a pod down to us containing something of great value."

"A pod," Cagalli asked, completely confused as to what exactly Lacus was doing.

Kira on the other hand did not really care about that at the moment as he was too busy worrying about Lacus. If she was in danger right now, then there was nothing he could do at the moment, or at least that's how he had felt since he no longer had the Freedom. The fact that he did not really have a mobile suit of his own anymore was really starting to sink in at long last, and his feelings of uselessness and restlessness were beginning to bubble even stronger every minute until the communication line to the _Archangel_ suddenly beeped and they all heard a voice that caught their attention. "Yo, would someone tell this guy watching me to calm down before he wears a hole in the floor," Neo called out over the line, surprising everyone that he even knew how to reach them.

Before anyone could ask what he meant, Athrun's face suddenly appeared on the monitor, and they were all immediately reminded that he had been assigned to keep an eye on the blonde Alliance pilot at the moment. "Go on, Kira," Athrun immediately said. "Protect Lacus no matter what."

"Everything will be over if we lose her, right," Neo asked. "I mean this guy was saying that quite a bit during his crazy pacing."

Kira's fire of determination immediately returned to him when he heard that, and he immediately gave a confident smile in thanks to Athrun before he turned to Cagalli and said, "I'm using the Rouge, sis, and I'll need the booster too."

"Go on," Cagalli encouraged. "If anyone can help her, it's you, but wouldn't it be better to use the Ground Bridge?"

"You guys might need it for something more important later," Kira reasoned. "It'd be better if it has as much power as necessary for that."

"Alright then," Cagalli conceded. "Just be careful out there."

Kira nodded and immediately raced back to his ship so that he could prepare the machine and the booster that would enable him to go into space. After he was out the door, Murrue had turned back to the monitor and smiled as she commented to Neo, "You still remember the communication code between the ship and the Autobot base."

"What," Neo asked, but before he could say anything, the line was cut off, and Murrue was preparing to give out orders for her crew to get back to the ship and prepare for action while supporting Kira, when a loud bang caught everyone's attention.

They all immediately turned to the source of the noise only to find a very agitated Bumblebee storming over to the Ground Bridge controls and away from a destroyed tool of Ratchet's, which of course prompted Ratchet to start saying, "Bumblebee, I…"

"What? You needed that," Bumblebee half-roared at the medic. "The only thing you need right now, is to get the Ground Bridge up and running for a trip to Gibraltar, now!"

"What? Why," Ratchet exclaimed.

"Because I'm going to go and put an end to Sentinel once and for all," Bumblebee replied.

"Whoa Bee, hold up a second," Jazz tried to reason. "I applaud the enthusiasm, but you can't just go over there and try to end things alone. That's suicide."

"Yeah, he's right," Smokescreen immediately added. "I mean, I want to get back at Sentinel for what he did to me and the others I knew I could trust on that team along with everyone else that he's lied to and hurt just as much as you guys do, but…"

"SHUT IT," Bumblebee shouted. "Don't act like you know a fragging thing about any of this, you little kiss up! For all we know, you could just be setting us up for an ambush when Sentinel shows up on our doorstep!"

"Bumblebee, that's out of line," Ironhide immediately reprimanded.

"Oh don't give me that," Bumblebee then rounded on the weapons specialist. "I just heard you the other day talking about how you were going to turn Sentinel into Swiss cheese the next time you saw him!"

"That was just talk, and I never said I was going to do it alone," Ironhide defended.

"Which just goes to show that I'm clearly the only one out of all of you who is actually willing to take action, or did you all forget about what Sentinel has done? If you need a reminder, just look at the medical center where Optimus is currently lying on his death bed," Bumblebee shouted. Everyone was so stunned beyond belief at what they were hearing Bumblebee say that most of them barely even registered when Kira had finally launched and blasted off towards the _Eternal_. Eventually though, one person did shake everyone out of their shock when he stomped up to Bumblebee.

"Well what do you want," Bumblebee demanded of Grimlock when he had finally stopped before him. Grimlock's response was to just slam his fist into Bumblebee's gut and knock the wind out of him before slamming an uppercut into him. "Hey what's your problem?!"

"Shut it," Grimlock demanded as he grabbed Bumblebee's arm, roughly. "Bumble Bot come with Grimlock, now!"

Everyone barely registered what had happened until Grimlock had punched in a set of coordinates on the Ground Bridge controls and then dragged Bumblebee through the vortex the minute he had opened it, never registering that Cagalli had tapped a control on her belt that allowed her to change into her pilot suit as she ran through the Bridge right behind them as he did.

After they came out of the Ground Bridge, Cagalli had run for cover just as she saw Grimlock throw Bumblebee down on the road of a bridge that was either abandoned or still under construction in the middle of a large desert area. As soon as he regained his bearings, Bumblebee stood up to scowl at Grimlock as he protested, "What's your damage, Grimlock? I thought we were friends!"

"You not Grimlock's friend," Grimlock snarled as he unfolded his sword from where he kept it in his arm. "Now fight Grimlock!"

The minute the Dinobot leader said that, Bumblebee had to jump to the side in order to avoid being sliced apart by the blade that was just swung at him. After rolling to his feet again, Bumblebee continued to remain on the defensive as he avoided both Grimlock's sword and fists as best he could, but he was quickly discovering that despite his large size, Grimlock was in fact very fast. "Me, Grimlock, heard Bumble Bot end Megatron and that he fight in serious battle with Stinger," Grimlock then roared. "What happened to fire that Bumble Bot had then?!"

"What're you talking about," Bumblebee demanded as he finally caught Grimlock's sword in both hands.

"Bumble Bot being coward," Grimlock just continued on roaring. "What you think Optimus do in Bumble Bot's place?"

"I know he wouldn't be pushed around like this by you," Bumblebee yelled in response. That did not seem to be the answer Grimlock was looking for if his growl and narrowing optics were anything to go by, but all the same, Bumblebee went on to say, "Alright Grimlock, if you want to fight me so bad, then you've got it!"

With that said, Bumblebee pulled the sword aside before throwing a kick into Grimlock's chest that made the Dinobot stumble for a few seconds. Bumblebee then raced up to push on this moment and began swinging wildly at Grimlock, but Grimlock only dodged from side to side and let Bumblebee's attack swing right past him while hitting nothing more than air before finally retaliating by slamming his fist into Bumblebee and knocking him back. Grimlock then slammed both of his fists on the ground and transformed into his dinosaur mode, which was revealed to be a massive, gold and silver Tyrannosaurs with horns. Immediately following his transformation, Grimlock locked his gaze onto Bumblebee and let loose a blast of fire from his mouth that caused Bumblebee to roll out of the way, only to end up falling off the bridge and then hanging down from it.

Grimlock was just stomping up to where Bumblebee was hanging, when a sudden blast of energon struck him on the side and forced him to move back as he transformed back into his robot mode. Grimlock shook himself out of his daze for a minute and then looked to see that Cagalli was shooting at him as she pulled a strong cable over to where Bumblebee was and then threw it over the side for Bumblebee to grab so that he could pull himself up. Once Bumblebee was on the bridge again, he glanced at Cagalli as she continued to fire on Grimlock and then demanded, "What're you doing here, Cagalli?"

"Helping you out the same way you've always helped me," Cagalli replied in retort.

"You shouldn't be anywhere near here right now," Bumblebee then hollered. "It's too dangerous for humans to be close by when two transformers are fighting it out like this as it is, let alone when one of those transformers is Grimlock!"

"I don't care about that," Cagalli shouted back. "I'm not letting one of my friends take a beating like this!"

Grimlock only snorted when he heard that and then said, "It seems that puny human has more faith in Bumble Bot than Bumble Bot does. Puny human want to risk life for Bumble Bot, so why Bumble Bot so afraid still?"

Bumblebee only snarled at Grimlock before he turned to Cagalli once again and scooped her up into his hand as he shouted, "Hang on, Cagalli!"

Cagalli had to immediately scream in shock as Bumblebee lifted her up and then jumped into the air and over to the other side of the incomplete bridge before he transformed and raced away as fast as he could. As he watched the scout go, Grimlock could only snarl in anger over the fact his point still had not gotten across before he finally commented, "Times like this, me, Grimlock miss old alt mode."

* * *

Back at the base, every human that was watching what was happening was horrified at what had unfolded. Grimlock had brutally attacked Bumblebee like he was the enemy, and when Bumblebee finally tried to fight back, it was like an entirely different Autobot was fighting in his place. Everyone knew that Bumblebee was hurting from what had happened to Optimus and was confused after having the possibility of inheriting the Matrix thrown on top of that, but after seeing what they had all saw, it seemed that they never really fully understood how upset he was until now. Still, it did not change the fact that they disapproved of Grimlock's actions.

After seeing Bumblebee race away with Cagalli, they all thought that it was finally over, until they heard the Ground Bridge powering up and then turned to see Jazz racing through it in his vehicle mode. "What are you doing," Miriallia demanded. "Can't you guys give Bumblebee a break?! He's just really upset and confused right now. He doesn't need his friends attacking him like this!"

"On the contrary, Miriallia, this is exactly what Bumblebee needs right now," Ratchet argued. "At this point, it is the only way Bumblebee will be able to remember who he really is and just what he really needs to be doing."

Before anyone could argue, Smokescreen walked up with an Energon Bow in hand before he declared, "I'm going out next."

"Nyah-ah-ah-ah," Ratchet immediately protested. "You are not going anywhere on your own. Bumblebee was right about one thing. We can't fully trust you just yet."

"I know, and that's another reason why I have to go," Smokescreen countered. "Bumblebee's my hero, and I hate seeing him like this. If I can do something to help him, then I will, and if it gets me a bit of trust from you guys, then that'll just be a small bonus. Besides, I've got a plan in mind that might work."

"And what exactly would that be," Hound asked.

Smokescreen only turned to the other humans in response before asking, "You guys all have special suits like the one Cagalli was wearing when she jumped through the Ground Bridge, right?"

"Yes," Murrue replied after a minute, unsure of where Smokescreen was going with this line of thinking, until Smokescreen finally explained his plan to her and the other humans in the room.

* * *

Bumblebee had been racing away from where he had just fought with Grimlock with Cagalli in the passenger seat for a few hours now, until Cagalli finally had enough of the silence and asked, "Bumblebee, I know that you're still upset about all that's happened, but do you really think that what you're doing right now is the right thing?"

"I don't know, and I don't care," Bumblebee huffed. "But if I have to drive myself to Gibraltar so I can end Sentinel, then I will. Bumblebee to base, I need a Ground Bridge for Cagalli."

When he received no response to his hails, Bumblebee had immediately tried again, until Cagalli stopped him saying, "Don't bother. I get the feeling they're not going to let you back until you figure out what they're trying to tell you."

"What's that supposed to mean," Bumblebee demanded, but unfortunately, all further conversation was cut off when he was suddenly slammed from the side by none other than Jazz's white and blue sports car mode. "Jazz, what the scrap are you doing?!"

"Trying to get you to get your helm on straight," Jazz said before he rammed into Bumblebee's side again, jostling Cagalli in her seat when he did.

"Jazz, stop! Cagalli's in here," Bumblebee shouted.

"Only cause she wants to be here. That's something you can't stop anyone from doing," Jazz shouted, and he prepared to ram into Bumblebee again.

Before he did though, Bumblebee slammed on his brakes for a few seconds and let Jazz swerve past him and into the wall before the scout rocketed off in another direction away from Optimus's first lieutenant. Jazz tried to call out to Bumblebee and tell him to come back, but the scout was either too far away to hear at this point or just simply did not bother to listen. Jazz then transformed and radioed the base saying, "Jazz to Alpha II, he ditched me too."

_"Roger that Jazz. We've got him and are sending in our next move now,"_ Ratchet replied.

Jazz only nodded in response before he turned at the sound of heavy footsteps coming up behind him, and he was then greeted with the sight of Grimlock slowing to a stop beside him and panting hard. "Stupid…Bumble Bot and his…speed," Grimlock panted.

"Uh, Grimlock," Jazz then asked in confusion. "I know you're alt mode isn't what it used to be, but aren't you still faster in your Dino mode than you are in robot mode?"

Grimlock seemed to freeze for a minute before he slapped his helm and declared, "Me, Grimlock, stupid sometimes."

"Don't worry, big guy," Jazz comforted. "I get the feeling our next play will be just what the doctor ordered." Even though he said that, Jazz was not all that confident in whatever they would be sending against Bumblebee next, and as a result, he found himself hoping that Kira and the _Eternal_ were doing better than they were.

* * *

At that very moment, Waltfeld was doing all he could in his dark orange Gaia Gundam to fend off the attacking Z.A.F.T. mobile suits and Autobot drones, and things were not made any easier when a fleet of Decepticon flyers ended up joining the party. For a moment, it seemed as if they were not going to make it through the battle, until a sudden beam blast suddenly soared through some of the enemy units. Turning to the source, Waltfeld could immediately see the Strike Rouge blasting up to them sporting the colors of the original Strike Gundam. A minute after the Rouge had discarded its booster and fully joined the fight; the Gundam had tossed its rifle over to him and then opened fire on the other enemies using its Railgun and Beam Launcher, eliminating a number of enemy drones and mobile suits in the process.

"Lacus, Mister Waltfeld, Miss Aisha," Kira called out as he maneuvered his borrowed mobile suit in front of the _Eternal_ and armed it with its anti-ship sword.

"Kira," Lacus exclaimed in shock.

"What're you doing up here," Waltfeld then gasped.

"I'm so sorry, but I was worried," Kira replied as he launched the Strike Rouge's backpack at an enemy before slashing it and a small group apart with his sword. A moment after he did, an enemy machine had managed to destroy his shield and the arm carrying it, but he was quick to retaliate by giving the sword a hard toss that disabled the enemy completely.

"Dumb kid," Waltfeld muttered as he moved to cover Kira. "Get on board the _Eternal_ before it's too late!"

"What," Kira asked.

"Go and get your new machine," Waltfeld then elaborated with a smirk.

Kira quickly got the message and gave an affirmative response before maneuvering the Strike Rouge into a position that would allow it to be pulled into the _Eternal_ by the ship's emergency retrieval systems. He ended up losing both of the Gundam's legs in the process, but it did not take long before Kira was pulled safely aboard the pink ship. As soon as he was out of his suit and through the airlock, Kira was immediately greeted by the sight of smiling Lacus and caught her in a tight hug when she raced over to him.

"Thank goodness," Kira whispered into his girlfriend's ear. "Being with you here like this…I've never been so happy."

"I feel the same way, Kira," Lacus told him with a loving smile.

The sound of explosions outside the ship immediately brought the two back to the situation at hand, and Lacus then, reluctantly led Kira to where the machine Waltfeld had told him about was being kept. The minute they were in the hangar and Kira laid eyes on the mobile suit, he let out a soft gasp as he gazed upon what looked like a new and improved version of the Freedom. The major differences that Kira could spot between this new Gundam and the old Freedom was that the new machine did not carry a shield or a beam rifle, in fact beyond the Railguns and the two beam sabers that were stored on the sides of its waist, it did not seem to carry any weapons at all, and finally, he could tell that the Railguns that were in the wings had also been removed as well.

"Kira," Lacus said, bringing Kira out of his silent observation of the Gundam. "Allow me to present the ZGMF-CX20A Strike Freedom Gundam."

"CX20A," Kira asked.

"It's representative of the fact that this machine is one of the first of its kind, in the sense that it possess a function that no other mobile suit has up to this point," Lacus explained. "Unfortunately, the function has not been fully completed yet, but it is working well enough to the point where you can use the basic abilities of that function. The idea behind this machine and others like it was to create a Gundam that could truly fight on equal footing with a Transformer."

Kira gazed at the new Strike Freedom in awe for a minute as he pondered exactly what Lacus's words likely meant before he finally turned to the woman he loved so much and said, "Thanks Lacus. With this new machine, I can fight properly, the way I know how, and probably even better." Upon seeing Lacus's tears of worry for him, Kira immediately grabbed her hands and said, "Wait here. I'll be right back, and then we'll return, back to our friends."

"…Okay," Lacus finally nodded, and with that, the pink songstress moved to return to the airlock so that Kira could prepare his new Gundam for its first battle and launch.

As he ran through the specs of the new Gundam, Kira found the feature that Lacus had mentioned and was naturally shocked at what it was. "This thing…has its own T-Cog," Kira exclaimed when he read what the machine's computer was telling him. Now knowing of this, Kira could not stop the smirk that formed on his face as he finished the final adjustments that he would need and announced, "Strike Freedom Gundam systems activated!"

A minute after the hangar's launch bay doors had opened Kira heard Flay's voice calling out over the radio, _"CX20A Strike Freedom Gundam, go ahead and launch!"_

"Kira Yamato, Strike Freedom! Let's do it," Kira cried out as he rocketed down the launch pad and into space, activating the Gundam's Phase Shift armor as he did, and revealing that while the Strike Freedom still had the old Freedom's color scheme for the most part, it now also had gold highlights on the joints, hands, and on other points of the suit as well.

Naturally, some of the enemy units tried to fire on the Strike Freedom as it flew in, but Kira was quick to bring up the machine's left energy shield in response and block the attacks before throwing said shield at them and slicing them apart. The Gundam then whipped out one of its beam sabers and slashed apart a squadron of enemy Autobot and Decepticon drones as Kira flew past them, leaving many of the troops in shock and awe of what the new machine appeared to be capable of doing. Eventually, one of the attacking GOUFs was able to cause Kira to lose his beam saber for a minute and grab his arm, thinking he had Kira trapped, but Kira could only smirk in reply as it gave him the chance to try out one of the Strike Freedom's special features, which was provided by its T-Cog.

Kira then tapped a control, and the Gundam's free arm instantly transformed into a blade much like Optimus's default arm blades, and he then pushed the machine's arm aside so that he could slash at it with the arm blade. "What the hell," the pilot of the GOUF shouted as his suit was disabled in the ensuing explosion.

"What kind of mobile suit is that," another pilot asked as the Strike Freedom then spun around and holstered its retrieved beam saber before switching its right arm into a blaster that was also like Optimus's default blaster and fired a number of pin-point accurate shots at the attacking enemies. Eventually, a group of GOUFs caught Kira in their energy rods, but Kira simply unfolded the wings of the Strike Freedom Gundam and revealed that they were actually carrying DRAGOON pods in them, which flew around and unleashed a barrage of beam blasts on the mobile suits that were holding him.

After flying away from the machines that were holding him as they exploded, Kira switched his blade arm into a blaster as well, and targeted the remaining enemy machines and Transformer drones with the multi-targeting system before unleashing a blast from all the weapons the Strike Freedom possessed at once, defeating all of the enemies in an instant.

To say that everyone was shocked at how quickly Kira had defeated the remaining enemy mobile suits, Autobot drones, and Decepticon flyers would be to putting it mildly, as Kira had done so in almost one and a half minutes, and Kira proved that he was not done yet when he rocketed towards the enemy ships. The three vessels attempted to shoot him down, but the Strike Freedom proved to be far too fast for them to so much as even attempt a brief target lock, let alone hit with their guns barrage. In no time at all, Kira had disabled each of the enemy ships and allowed the _Eternal_ to finally breathe easy as they began their retreat before preparing to send down what they needed to send.

As he flew alongside the pink ship, Kira could not help but marvel at how amazing his new Gundam was and the fact that when he was piloting it, he felt like he really was one of the Autobots, given how the machine truly did fight like one of the Transformers, and he knew that he was only just scratching the surface of what it could do. Knowing this, Kira found himself feeling more confident than ever that they would be able to face the future now, and that Bumblebee would realize that soon enough too.

* * *

Bumblebee and Cagalli had been driving along the deserted freeway for some time now after losing Jazz, and no matter what she had tried Cagalli could not seem to get Bumblebee to talk to her at all. Eventually though, they came to a hard stop when they saw Smokescreen sitting in front of them in his newly repainted vehicle mode and blocking the road. "I don't want to have to do this, Bumblebee, but you leave me no choice," Smokescreen sighed. He then transformed to robot mode and unfolded his Energon Bow before aiming it directly at the scout, declaring, "I'll shoot if I have to!"

"So you've finally decided to show your true colors, Smokescreen," Bumblebee growled, something Cagalli had never heard the scout do before.

"All I'm doing is helping you to stop acting like this, and start being yourself again," Smokescreen retorted. "Don't you see how much your attitude lately is affecting everyone? This isn't you, Bee."

"Don't act like you know me," Bumblebee shouted. "You're just some little fan-Bot who doesn't have a damn clue about what he's really doing."

The minute he shouted that, Bumblebee revved his engine and started racing towards Smokescreen. "Bumblebee, stop," Smokescreen pleaded.

"OUT OF MY WAY," Bumblebee hollered, but when a sudden energon blast hit the ground in front of him and he saw where it had come from, Bumblebee immediately screeched to a halt and transformed to robot mode with Cagalli held close in his hand.

There, standing before Smokescreen with energon rifles and pistols out, were Athrun, Murrue, Natarle, Murdoch, Sai, Miriallia, Kisaka, and Erica, all wearing the same type of battle suits that Cagalli and Kira also wore as pilot suits. Most of the suits were in standardized colors of blue and white, while the ones that Athrun, Miriallia, and Sai wore were in their own custom colors. Athrun's suit was a deep purple with black and white thrown in along with gold highlights, while Miriallia's was a dark pink that was much like Elita's paint job and bright yellow, much like her old uniform from the previous war. Sai's suit was the same as Miriallia's in terms of what the color scheme was like except for the fact that his suit was blue and white with red highlights. All in all, Bumblebee could tell that none of the gathered humans were all that happy to see him at the moment.

"Wh-what is this," Bumblebee demanded as his human friends started moving towards him with their firearms ready, even as he tried to step back. "What're you all doing here?! Don't you get that this isn't safe for you?!"

"We know that," Athrun replied as he leveled his gun. "But that's not going to stop us from bringing you back to your old self."

After what seemed like several minutes, Bumblebee suddenly felt an energon blast sting his hand, and then panicked when he saw Cagalli leaping down from where he had been holding her to stand by the others. "Cagalli, get back here," Bumblebee shouted, but the young leader of Orb did no such thing. "Cagalli."

_"Bumblebee,"_ Optimus's voice seemed to call out to him. _"Your friends can all see something that you cannot for some reason. Why are you trying to push them away when they only want to help?"_

At that point, Bumblebee could no longer hold anything back, and he let out a loud scream of anguish as he fell to his knees and slammed his fists into the ground beneath him. "I don't want any of this anymore," Bumblebee shouted. "I've already lost so many friends and comrades on Cybertron, and I've lost more friends since coming to Earth. Cliffjumper, Dreadwing, Stinger…and now I'm about to lose Optimus as well! Now all of a sudden, Optimus expects me to do the job that he was always meant to do, but how can I lead anyone, if I'm too afraid of anymore friends dying? Optimus was always prepared for anything, even when the worst came to worst, but I can't do that! I'M NOT OPTIMUS!"

"…Then don't try to be," Cagalli finally spoke up after a minute, getting Bumblebee's attention fixated completely on her. As she continued to speak though, Cagalli could see as clearly as everyone else that the scout had the early signs of what qualified as tears for Transformers forming in his optics, but that did not stop her from pressing on. "Bumblebee, do you remember what you told me during one of my earlier days of being chief representative of Orb?" At Bumblebee's blank look of confusion, Cagalli quickly elaborated, "Arcee had to go on an extra patrol that day and asked for you to pick me up from the Cabinet Building. I had been having a bad day, and was upset the entire trip home, even when you tried to cheer me up with some music. It wasn't until we finally reached the Athha Estate that you finally decided to just confront me on it."

Bumblebee's optics widened as he instantly remembered exactly the day that Cagalli was talking about.

* * *

_Bumblebee's gold and black stripped vehicle mode had just pulled up to Cagalli's door while the radio had begun playing a new song, which led the Autobot to cry out, "Oh I love this song!" The scout then began humming along to the tune and if he were in robot mode, there would be no doubt that he would have started dancing right then, but when Cagalli just huffed in reply as she climbed out, he turned off the radio and assumed robot mode so that he could properly ask, "Okay, so you want to tell me what's caused Cagalli Yulla McGrouchy to rear her ugly head?"_

_ "Excuse me," Cagalli half-shrieked, having finally said something other than the hello she gave Bumblebee when he pulled up to drive her home._

_ "Hey, in case you haven't noticed, when you're in a really bad mood, you kind of act like a different person. It's only natural that we have another name for ya in that case," Bumblebee teasingly reasoned. He then sat down Indian style as he asked, "So seriously, what's up?"_

_ Cagalli could tell that the scout was not going to leave unless she told him, so she just sighed and said, "I don't know what to do, Bumblebee."_

_ "What do you mean? You seemed to be doing pretty well in there from what I could hear," Bumblebee asked._

_ "Maybe, but no matter what I say, the ministers always seem to have another argument to what I decide or a counterargument of some kind," Cagalli explained. "I've tried to do everything that my father would do, and lead the way that he would, but I just can't seem to get them to take me seriously or even agree with me on anything. I just can't lead like my father did."_

_ "Then don't," Bumblebee told her softly, getting a look of confusion from Cagalli. "You're trying to lead like your father, but that's the whole problem right there. You're not your father, you're you, so don't try to be like him. Optimus had served with Sentinel and Zeta Prime long before he was a Prime himself, but even after he was named a Prime and eventually given the Matrix, he never once tried to be like any of the previous Primes. He just led the Autobots in the way that he would lead them, and it always worked out in the end somehow. That's all anyone can ask of any leader to do. Not for them to lead like someone else would, but to lead in the way that the leader themselves would."_

_ "Lead like…I would," Cagalli whispered._

_ "Exactly," Bumblebee told her. "You're not your father, so don't lead like Uzumi Nara Athha. Lead like you would, like Cagalli Yulla Athha would. You do that, and I can almost guarantee that you'll have them practically eating out of your hands in no time."_

_ Cagalli thought this over for a minute before she finally smiled up at Bumblebee and said, "Thanks Bumblebee, and you're right. It's high time I started leading in the way that I would lead, so when I go in tomorrow, I'm going to show them exactly how Cagalli Yulla Athha leads."_

_ "That's the spirit," Bumblebee cheered, and with that, the two went their separate ways, eagerly awaiting the results of Cagalli's next day in the Cabinet Building._

* * *

"That advice you gave me back then is something I've done my best to live by every day since then," Cagalli revealed to Bumblebee when he brought himself out of his memories. "And that's why I'm now giving you that same advice now. Don't lead like Optimus Prime would. Lead like you would, like Bumblebee would. You do that, and I can guarantee that you'll always have all of us by your side right to the bitter end, without any of us dying before our time."

Bumblebee could only stare at Cagalli for a minute before he finally smiled and nodded to her, and anyone who knew Bumblebee could tell you that the smile he gave the young blonde was the smile of confidence that he usually wore, but had not shown in the recent days until now, and it was sight that was as welcoming as being reunited with an old friend. "Thanks Cagalli and thank you all as well for opening my optics. I was so scared of losing Optimus and of what the burden carrying the Matrix might bring if it ended up being passed to me I forgot all about who I was and what mattered. I can't help but think that saying sorry isn't enough, but still, can you guys forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," Arcee's voice suddenly told him. Bumblebee then spun around to see all of the Autobots of Team Optimus except for Grimlock gathered before them with bright smiles adorning each of their faces, showing that Arcee's statement was completely true and that they were all just glad to have the old Bumblebee back.

As congratulations were passed to the scout for finally realizing what they were trying to tell him, Grimlock finally appeared and called out, "Bumble Bot! You have unfinished business with Grimlock."

A minute later, Grimlock was charging at Bumblebee with his sword in hand, despite the protests of the humans present. Just as Miriallia was about to call out for Grimlock to stop again, Slug interrupted and simply said, "Wait for it."

The minute Grimlock was in range he brought his sword down in a mighty swing, but then suddenly froze when the blade was just inches from Bumblebee's neck and the scout still showed no signs of moving beyond simply smirking at the Dinobot leader. He held that position for another second or so until Grimlock also smirked as he grunted, "You not even flinch."

"Of course not," Bumblebee quipped.

Grimlock then simply stowed his sword away as he declared, "Me, Grimlock start to see what Optimus saw in Bumble Bot when he say Bumble Bot might be next Prime now. Bumble Bot no coward anymore."

"Great, now that the ruler of the bozos has given his seal of approval, can we go home now," Cagalli asked.

"Me, Grimlock told puny Cagalli, me no bozo! Me king," Grimlock then roared.

"Oh whoopee, the king of the lizard brains is being gracious enough to grace us with his presence! How lucky are we," Cagalli retorted in heavy sarcasm.

"Me Grimlock not lizard brain, and at least me, Grimlock not made of weak little fleshy parts," Grimlock snapped back.

"Yeah, you're just all brawns and no brain at all," Cagalli shouted.

"Ugh, there they go again," Sai sighed.

"Yep, but we probably should get out of here before someone does come along and sees us," Bumblebee commented. Everyone immediately agreed with the scout and as soon as Ratchet had activated his remote Ground Bridge terminal and opened a vortex that would transport them back to base, everyone was quick to race through, with Athrun and Snarl dragging along the still arguing Cagalli and Grimlock as they did. As he went through, Bumblebee thought of something and immediately asked, "By the way, where exactly is this place that Grimlock dragged me to?"

"Some place called Jasper, Nevada," Bulkhead replied. "Apparently it's near a town in the middle of nowhere that almost no one visits simply because nothing interesting ever happens."

"Huh, you know, maybe we should come back here someday for when we just want to take a casual drive or do some training," Bumblebee commented. "It's remote, clear skies, little chance of anyone seeing us…"

"I think that last one would only apply if we were still robots in disguise," Arcee pointed out.

"Fair enough," Bumblebee admitted with a light shrug, and with that, the Autobots and their human allies were on their way home, happy to have the old Bumblebee now back in action.

* * *

**_AN: Well there ya go, folks. Kira's back in action with a new and improved Freedom, the Strike Freedom, and what's this? The Strike Freedom has a T-Cog and it can use weapons like the Transformers can?! What could this possibly mean for the other Gundams from the CX series?_**

**_Kira: Are you seriously saying there's going to be more than one of those?_**

**_AN: Um, duh. I think it's obvious that there will be since we still need to witness the return of the Justice as the Infinite Justice Gundam._**

**_Athrun: Where did that whole thing with Bumblebee and the other Bots come from anyways?_**

**_AN: Oh that was actually a little something that I got from an episode of Transformers Armada. You know, that one episode where Hot Shot's gotten all messed up and angry and ends up having to come to blows with Scavenger and the others. I figured I'd do something similar for Bumblebee here because it seemed like the best way to get him back to his old self and in shape to lead like Optimus had wanted him to. That whole scene between him and Cagalli was partially inspired by some things from the new Transformers Robots in Disguise series and the old Disney cartoon Tarzan while also having my own little personal touch._**

**_Cagalli: What about the suits we were all wearing at the end there?_**

**_AN: Well, I tried to describe them as best I could, but to put it simply, Athrun's suit looks like the one he wore when he piloted the Infinite Justice, and it's design is similar to the one Kira wears, except for the fact that it has the Autobot logo on the chest armor, and everyone else's is the same in terms of layout except for the colors. If you need a reminder of those colors, just go back and re-read the part where I was describing it._**

**_Bumblebee: Hey, can we get on to more important stuff? Like telling them that the next chapter is practically the one that you, us, and our fans have all likely been waiting for since forever?_**

**_AN: I'm getting to that! And before any of you asks, yes the next chapter is what you think it is, and if you need proof, let me just say, Onto the preview!..._**

**_The Z.A.F.T.-Autobot-Decepticons have determined that Djibril and the Eradicons are hiding in Orb, and consequently begin an attack on the nation when Yuna Roma Seiran's actions brings the nation into grave danger. Among the chaos of this new battle, the _****Archangel_-Autobots charge into battle with Bumblebee now assuming command of the Autobot team, and Cagalli charging forward with the mobile suit teams in a new, golden Gundam. As the battle heats up, the Autobots find themselves facing impossible odds, even with the Dinobots alongside them. Just what is going through the minds of the pilots and crew members of the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_ as the battle rages, what will it take for Shinn and the others to finally make their move, and when faced with a great decision, what actions will one take to ensure the survival of a comrade and the future? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_Chapter 20: Radiant Might_. Akatsuki, illuminate a path that the mightiest warriors may follow!_**

**_Yep, the battle of Orb is up next, and it sounds like someone's making a comeback. Like we don't all know who that's going to be. So until then..._**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	20. Radiant Might

_**AN: Well, we're here at last, and let me just say, I had rehearsed, revised, and even rewrote some parts of this chapter so many times, that I'm surprised that it did not turn out like a big mess. This is the longest chapter in this story, which kinda makes you wonder if I am going to make all the major stuff in Orb take place in one huge chapter all the time. But enough on that, it's time to get to it. And now the moment we've all been waiting for!**_

_**I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 20: Radiant Might**

A couple of days had passed since the battle of Heavens Base, and things had become rather hectic at the Z.A.F.T. base in Gibraltar. Everyone was scrambling to ensure that they were ready for the inevitable confrontation they would face when they finally located Djibril and Lockdown, and the fact that some individuals were not as thrilled about the actions that they were taking as of late was a major factor in the frenzy that they were all facing. It did not help matters that the Decepticons were basically roaming about the base among them like they did not have a care in the world, as most people immediately became tense the minute so much as a Vehicon drone was within visual range of them, but given how many of the Decepticons were seemingly giving every effort they could to make this alliance work proved to be at least a little reassuring. Even so, the fact that the Decepticons were acting so friendly with them only gave those on the _Minerva_ who suspected the truth about the _Xanthium_ captain's intentions more reason to follow through with their plans, but not before taking necessary precautions.

Shinn and the others who knew about the truth concerning Sentinel were doing everything they could to determine who they could trust on their ship to stick with them, but given the fact that they had to do so as discreetly as possible, and without raising even a small amount of suspicion, it was not all that easy. In their search for possible allies though, they did discover that some of Sentinel's crew was likely to stand by them if they were to receive the chance, the most notable being Crosshairs and Drift, and that was reason enough to boost their confidence in what they were doing. Sadly, most of those other Autobots were either too afraid of what might happen to them if they crossed Sentinel after what had happened to Optimus, Smokescreen, Athrun, and Meyrin, or they just simply thought it would be better to keep their heads down. Even while that was the case, their efforts seemed to be paying off at least a little, but something else had been bothering Shinn since they returned to Gibraltar.

Ever since the night that had followed the attack on Heavens Base, Shinn had been having constant nightmares, which led him to being kept up late at night as all of the nightmares were always about some of the things he had done in past battles. The most notable of those things being his battles with the Freedom, the Destroy and Tidal Wave, and, of course, when he ended up being forced to shoot down Athrun and Meyrin. Normally, he would have confided in Rey about these nightmares, mostly because they were roommates on the _Minerva_, but after their little falling out after his battle with the Freedom, and the fact that he was considering Rey to likely be against them when Shinn and the others made their move, he was not all that comfortable with so much as having a casual conversation while the blonde man was in the room with him. Instead, he told either Lunamaria or Mayu about the dreams, and both just told him that it was natural for someone as nice as Shinn to be having nightmares about those things, but it did not make Shinn feel any better, especially when he thought about the one part of the dreams that he did not tell them or anyone else about.

That was why Shinn ended up looking so tired when he and his fellow pilots were receiving decorations for their services during the battle of Heavens Base, which Lunamaria was quick to eagerly point out was the second one for Shinn now, but he soon found himself not even the least bit sleepy when the chairman, or whoever that man who was filling Durandal's role was, presented both Shinn and Rey with a startling addition to the decorations. The chairman had ended up appointing both of the young pilots as the newest members of FAITH, and the chairman's little play on words when he said that he hoped that they would not betray his faith in them was not lost on anyone, but aside from Shinn and the others who knew of Sentinel's true colors, the fact that he said it like a dispassionate machine was. Thus, Lunamaria and Dearka were now effectively the only pilots on the _Minerva_ who were not members of FAITH, but that did not matter to anyone at the moment.

As they were leaving the building to return to their ship after the awards ceremony, an officer reported to the chairman that Carpentaria had discovered that Djibril and the Eradicons were currently hiding out in Orb. This fact shocked Shinn and the others completely when they overheard this and Soundwave's confirmation of the fact, but they were able to keep their reactions down to what one would have expected their reactions to have been and just kept walking. As he was moving away from the conversation they had overheard and Rey, Shinn noticed Yzak slowing his pace to walk alongside him as he whispered, "I doubt I need to tell you that even if Djibril and the Eradicons weren't in Orb that this was likely an inevitable outcome."

"Yeah, you're right about that," Shinn replied in the same hushed tone. "So, are we going to be making our move sometime during that battle?"

"Like you really have to ask," Yzak quipped with a small smirk that only Shinn could see. "There's no doubt that the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_ will be there, and once we're sure of the situation, we make our move."

"I just have one request," Shinn said to the veteran pilot. "I want you to let me be the one who launches into the battle."

Yzak gave Shinn an uncertain look at this request as he asked, "Are you sure about that? If you take that kind of action, not only will you have to really fight seriously against your homeland, but it'll be down to you to signal when we actually start taking action."

"I'm sure," Shinn replied with confidence. "Besides, it's like you said, Orb's my homeland, and if we have to fight against it, even for a few minutes, I want to make sure that as much is saved as possible."

Yzak seemed to pause in contemplation as he stared at the crimson eyed pilot before he finally gave another hidden smirk and told Shinn, "You know, you're more like Athrun than you think, you little bastard. Alright, you've got the job, but just make sure you don't screw this up."

"Don't worry I won't," Shinn smirked in return. "I'm just hoping you don't screw things up on your end."

Yzak gave Shinn a small glare that said that he was not laughing at the little joke that the Destiny pilot had just made, and the two then went their separate ways so that they could inform the captain and the others of what they were going to do when they reached Orb. The whole time he went, Shinn was promising over and over again that he would do whatever it takes to ensure that Orb was protected from the storm that was coming for the nation.

* * *

Naturally, it was not long until the _Archangel_-Autobots had found out that Djibril and the Eradicons were with the Seirans in Orb as well, along with the fact that Z.A.F.T. and Sentinel had discovered the same thing and sent out a fleet that was now sitting on the border of Orb waters. When she asked what the Orb Forces were doing at the moment though, Cagalli was shocked to discover that there had not been any official statement from the government and that the public had not even been made aware of the danger that was threatening them, with the added bonus of the press not being allowed to say anything at all. With all this in mind, Cagalli had taken to touring the _Archangel_ and the new base in order to keep herself calm while everyone else began to work as fast as they could to ensure that they were ready for the now inevitable confrontation.

Sometime during her stroll around both the human ship and the Autobot base, Cagalli had found herself present in the base along with Murrue, Natarle, Amagi, and all of the Autobots when Miriallia contacted them saying that the Orb government was on the air to give an official response to the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot-Decepticons' demands for handing over Djibril. The minute Miriallia had reported this, she put it on the speakers for the ship to hear as Ratchet did the same in the Autobot base. What they heard though was nothing short of infuriating and even horrifying. _"On behalf of the government of Orb, allow me to reply to your warning,"_ Yuna announced, sounding as arrogant and pompous as he always did when he was so overconfident. _"The individual by the name of Lord Djibril, who you have demanded we hand over, is simply not in this country, and in addition neither are the alien freaks, who you have identified as the supposedly dangerous Eradicons, are not here either since Orb has made it quite clear that our borders are closed to all of the alien freaks that call themselves the Cybertronians. Furthermore, this kind of intimidation where the threat of force is used to try and tarnish our good name is an insult to our sovereign nation. We find it distasteful. Therefore, we insist you withdraw your forces at once."_

"Yuna," Cagalli snarled, before she ended up going into a full-blown rant. "Does he really think his words are helping?! This situation is out of control!"

"Are all puny humans normally this stupid," Grimlock asked.

"Nope," Ironhide immediately replied. "That particular one is just naturally like that, and is too arrogant, bigoted, and egotistical to realize when he's wrong about something. Especially when it comes to his opinion of all Transformers."

"Who ponytail human talking about when he say 'alien freaks', though," Grimlock asked.

"He's referring to all of us guys from Cybertron, G," Jazz replied.

Grimlock's response to this was to roar in anger and shout, "Stupid ponytail man insult Dinobots?! Me, Grimlock smash!"

"Whoa there big guy," Wheeljack shouted. "He wasn't talking about the Dinobots specifically. He meant all Cybertronians, and that's not helping is it?"

"What do you think," Snarl asked as Grimlock's angry roaring and shouting continued to elevate to the point they were sure the whole planet could hear him now.

_"Detecting mobile suit launches from Z.A.F.T. ships along with numerous Autobot and Decepticon drones,"_ Miriallia suddenly reported, drawing everyone's attention back to the situation they were now facing as she listed all the different mobile suits that were heading for Orb now. A minute later, Ratchet had to add to everyone's worries when he reported that his scanners had confirmed the number of Autobot and Decepticon Vehicons and Flyers that were headed there along with the mobile suits, and needless to say, the number was not at all small.

"What about Orb," Cagalli then requested. "How are they deployed? Are they evacuating?"

_"…There's no movement just yet,"_ Miriallia hesitantly replied from the _Archangel_.

_"There's no evacuation warning either,"_ Sai then added. _"Quite the opposite. The citizens haven't been told anything about what's happening off the coast of Onogoro."_

"Seiran, you idiot," Bulkhead shouted as he smashed one of Ratchet's tools.

"Bulkhead, I needed," Ratchet started to say.

_"Orb's main island is under attack,"_ Miriallia suddenly cut in. _"It looks like they're going after the Seiran estate."_

Murrue instantly tapped her comm. link and asked Murdoch, "Murdoch, can the _Archangel_ get underway yet?"

_"Definitely not,"_ Murdoch immediately informed her. _"We're nowhere near finished with the engines!"_

Cagalli was seething in anger at this point, though not as much as Grimlock clearly still was, and it seemed like she was about to have a major outburst in anger for a moment until she finally turned to Amagi and calmly stated, "Amagi, we should send out the Murasames."

"Uh…yes ma'am," Amagi immediately replied after a minute.

"Then let's go." Cagalli then turned to Murrue and shocked everyone to their core when she requested, "Captain Ramius, may I have your permission to use the Sky Grasper?"

"What," everyone who heard her ended up shouting.

"We'll fight, even if we're the only ones," Cagalli immediately said before she turned to head for the _Archangel_, almost missing Murrue's protest to what she was planning to do.

"Cagalli, wait," Murrue shouted. "That's not…"

"Are you insane," Arcee interrupted. "If you go out there in the Sky Grasper, you'll be torn apart in seconds!"

"I am not going to just sit back and watch my country burn again, and I will not just let it burn at all," Cagalli immediately argued in response when she paused in her rush to the _Archangel_. "I can't just stand back and watch anymore!"

Before Cagalli could get any further, she ended up literally running right into Kisaka as he and Erica Simmons walked into the room. "Thank goodness," Arcee sighed. "One of you, do something to talk some sense into her, please. She's going to get herself killed if she goes through with what she's trying to do!"

"We don't have time for a debate," Cagalli shouted. "I'm using that machine."

"Cagalli, wait," Kisaka calmly told the blonde as he put both hands on her shoulders in an attempt to prevent her from charging off. "I want you to come with me."

"I CAN'T," Cagalli shouted. "If Orb's about to be plunged into war, then I'd rather throw myself into the flames than do nothing at all!"

Kisaka simply nodded as he smiled and softly told Cagalli, "I know you'd do it, and that's all the more reason why you have to come with me and Miss Erica."

Cagalli was about to protest again, when Erica stepped up and revealed, "We won't stop you from going out there if you want to, but we'd like you to hear Lord Uzumi's message before you go. His last will."

That got Cagalli to cool off and drive her attention to the two in a mere second, and the young leader of Orb immediately nodded and followed after Kisaka and Erica along with Amagi and Bumblebee, the latter of which was silently listening in as he sat next to Optimus the whole time. The trip to where Kisaka and Erica were leading them was not actually all that far from the base, the reason being because it was a facility that had the equipment that Erica believed was necessary for starting up the new Autobot base, and in a matter of minutes, the five was standing before a large door with a dust covered plate in front of it with a single message. "A wish that the day when this door need be opened never arrives," Cagalli read aloud for everyone after wiping off some of the dust.

"In other words, the day when Orb was in danger of being scorched by war again," Erica explained as she opened said door to reveal a darkened hangar. "Here it is. The legacy of Lord Uzumi, sealed away until now."

As soon as she said that, Erica flipped the lights on, and both Cagalli and Bumblebee had to shield their eyes due to the intensity of the brightness for a minute. When their eyes finally adjusted though, they both gasped when they saw that the lights themselves were not responsible for the level of brightness, but the machine that they were shinning down on was. "A golden mobile suit," Amagi gasped when he finally saw what stood before them as well.

"No. A golden Gundam," Bumblebee corrected, and the scout was correct in saying that, for there before them, was a Gundam class mobile suit that stood proud and tall with literally shinning gold colored armor. From where he stood, Bumblebee could see that the suit itself was armed with a beam rifle and a gold and black colored shield, a twin beam saber like the ones that were used by the Freedom and the Justice, and a High-Energy beam cannon that was mounted on the bottom of the backpack, which was clearly designed to give the suit atmospheric flight capabilities.

_"Cagalli,"_ Lord Uzumi's voice then called out over a recorded message, causing everyone to go quiet so that they may hear the late representative's final message to his daughter. _"Should the day come when you have need of additional power, consider this gift my answer to that need. There are many things I wasn't able to teach you myself, but if you have an open heart, you can learn everything you'll ever need from those around you, and from those who love and support you. Therefore, I can only give you what you see now before you. Power is whatever one makes of it. Foolish are those who hope for it in excess, yet equally foolish are those who resent it for no reason. Think of it as a sword for protection. If you need this now, then take it if it will help you walk the right path. It is yours. However, I had hoped the day would never come when this door would be opened, if it has been opened, then these words may be in vain. But my dear Cagalli…I wish you a long and happy life."_

"Thank you Father," Cagalli then cried, and soon enough she had sunk down to her knees as she softly cried for a few minutes, letting her father's words wash over her and then flow into her as she promised him on her life that she would protect Orb and all those who were important to her as best she could, and that she would honor his wish for her and do her best to live that long and happy life.

As she continued to shed her tears, not knowing that Amagi was shedding a few tears for her as well and that Bumblebee was on the verge of tears himself for the touching words from father to daughter he just heard, Kisaka kneeled down next to Cagalli and asked, "Cagalli, will you take the Akatsuki?"

Cagalli looked up at Kisaka before looking to the Akatsuki Gundam and then back to the man who had done so much to protect her for as long as she could remember until she finally dried her eyes and nodded as she replied, "Yes."

"We've got your back then," Bumblebee then said, getting everyone's attention before he made his way back into the base with the other four right on his heels. The minute he was in the base, he glanced over at Optimus's gravely injured form for only a second before he turned to address the gathered Autobots along with the _Archangel_ crew, who he could see still had their ship connected to the base, taking a deep breath in preparation before he finally spoke.

"As you are all no doubt aware by now, Orb is in danger once again, only this time, it's not just the Decepticons who are threatening it, but Z.A.F.T. Forces, and even fellow Autobots that we had long called comrades and friends," Bumblebee started. "Cagalli intends to lead the Marasame team there in order to defend her homeland, but we all know that will only solve half of the problem, even if the _Archangel_ joins in alongside her." The young scout then paused for a minute of silence to let that sink in before he finally continued, seeing that everyone was hanging on his every word in the same way they all normally did for Optimus. "If Optimus were able to, I'm sure he would have some inspirational speech to give about how we can't let the fact that we're outnumbered and possibly outmatched bring us down, and that we'd somehow prevail so long as we continued to stand for what we stand for. Personally, I'd like to hear it myself, but as we all know, Optimus isn't able to do that, and we all know who's responsible for that. I'm not asking you to go out there and fight in revenge for what happened to Optimus, because I know he would not want that, but I'm also not asking you to do so because it seems like I'm giving orders now just because Optimus thinks I _might_ become the next Prime after he's gone."

"Then what are you saying, Bee," Ironhide asked, voicing the question on everyone's minds.

"I'm saying two things," Bumblebee replied. "One of those things is that you fight because you still believe in the true Autobots and their cause, and that you also fight because of who you are. Not because you're a member of Team Optimus Prime, but because you're one of the real Autobots. Let me put it this way, my name is Bumblebee, Autobot Scout, trained under Optimus Prime, the 'Bot that Optimus believes could end up becoming the next Prime, and a proud Autobot, through and through to the end, and I intend to show the world what it truly means to be an Autobot. Who are all of you, and what do you intend to show them?"

Everyone glanced at one and other before Arcee finally stepped forward and said, "Arcee, Autobot Warrior, former leader of the Omnicons before transferring over to Team Optimus, and one of the true Autobots, same as you, and like you, I plan to show them what it really means to be on this team…sir."

Ironhide smirked a bit and then stepped up as he said, "Ironhide, Autobot Weapons Specialist, and proud Autobot Warrior and destroyer of 'Cons, and I plan to show them the same as you two."

"Me, Grimlock, leader of Dinobots," Grimlock then grunted. "Me show who real Autobots are and who traitor Bots are."

Silverbolt then stepped up as he said, "Silverbolt, leader of the Aerialbots, a 'Bot that once had a fear of heights but eventually came over it when his unit proved that they had the utmost confidence in him, and a true Autobot. I intend to show that my team will always stand with the real Autobots no matter what happens."

This continued on as each Autobot answered Bumblebee's question in similar manners, until everyone had given a reply and saw the small smirk of pride and gratitude that had reached Bumblebee's face, and that was when the scout picked up from where he left off as he said, "The second thing I was saying, is that I'm certain that this is not where the story ends for Optimus Prime. I still believe that he will not only live to see another day outside of this base, but that he will recover and rejoin the fight alongside all of us. I believe that so strongly, that when Optimus does finally wake up, I want him to see one thing. His Autobots standing strong and fearlessly as they continued to fight for the right of all sentient beings, and every single one of the ideals that he had helped the Autobots to become inspired by, and the nation that gave us a place to live on the world we've come to call our second home, and that same world defended from the threat that both now face. Tell me, Autobots, what do you want Optimus to see?!"

The response was instant, as all the Autobots immediately roared and cheered in agreement with Bumblebee, and before long, the crewmembers of the _Archangel_ and Kisaka and Erica had joined in the cheers right along with them. "Alright then," Bumblebee said. "Silverbolt, you and the Aerialbots are to stick with Cagalli and the Marasame team while giving us air support. Jazz, as soon as she's ready, assume command and have the _Omega II_ take off. There's not a doubt in my processor that Sentinel's ship will be joining in on this battle soon enough. Wreckers, as soon as we hit the coast, you're to form the first line of defense as Elita One assists in the evacuations of the civilians. Ratchet, you and Smokescreen remain here both to keep an eye on Optimus and in case we need to pull anyone from anywhere via the base's Ground Bridge. Everyone else, you're with me. We're taking the fight right to the 'Cons and Sentinel's legion of traitors, and we're going to show them why we're still fighting for the true reasons that the Autobots have always fought for, even after all that's happened."

"Uh, Bumblebee," Smokescreen quickly cut in. "Why am I staying here with Ratchet?"

"Sorry Smokescreen, it's nothing personal really," Bumblebee assured the younger Autobot. "But if Sentinel's team recognizes you, they will likely start coming after you or even all of us with an even greater intensity that I'm sure that Orb would rather deal without."

"And there's also the fact that you guys still don't trust me," Smokescreen grumbled.

"It's not that, kid," Bumblebee corrected. "We do trust you, but we just don't trust you completely, or at least not enough to not let yourself get caught up in personal vendettas, and there's also the fact that some of us do still think that you might betray us. I'm sorry, but right now, this is for the best."

Smokescreen just nodded and left it at that as Grimlock approached Bumblebee. "Me, Grimlock have question," the Dinobot leader said. "What Dinobots do?"

"Weren't you listening," Bumblebee asked. "I said the rest of you are with me. What that means is that we'll be acting as the main attack/defense force, so let's get out there, and hold nothing back." When everyone nodded in agreement with him, the scout then cried out, "Autobots, roll up and roll out!"

Everyone then had to look at the scout like he had just grown a second head when he let loose that battle cry, until eventually Cagalli had to ask as she was activating her suit, "Was that really the best you could do?"

Bumblebee could only cough in embarrassment before finally saying, "I'll work on that last part."

Before anyone could make any further moves, Ratchet walked up to Bumblebee and gabbed his arm before he started tinkering with something and only saying, "If you're really going to do this, then you'll need these."

When the medical 'Bot finally finished, Bumblebee raised his arm and was surprised to find a sword suddenly extending from his wrist, showing that his secondary default weapons had been activated. "Ratchet, I thought secondary default weapons were only meant for Warrior class Autobots," Bumblebee pointed out.

"Under normal circumstances, you'd be right," Ratchet replied with a knowing smile. "But given that you're effectively leading the team and have proven that you're more than ready for the rank of Warrior, I figured that you'll need an extra edge in the upcoming battle."

With that said, Bumblebee nodded and then transformed into vehicle mode along with the rest of what was now his team, and they immediately raced out of the base to their assigned positions whether it be via the Ground Bridge, the base's main entrance, or through the entrance to the _Omega II_'s hangar with the Akatsuki and the Marasames following after them shortly after.

* * *

Things were not going well on the battlefield, as the Z.A.F.T.-Autobot-Decepticon Forces were easily tearing through the poorly assembled and organized Orb Defenses, and naturally, Yuna was not at all pleased with the results. It was obvious to everyone that the man had no clue what he was doing right from the moment he walked into the Defense Headquarters complaining about the fact that the attack was happening even though he had blatantly lied and told their enemies that Djibril and the Eradicons were not in Orb. When it was pointed out to him that they were facing a completely different situation in comparison to the one with the _Archangel_-Autobots, Yuna just threw a fit like a child and told them to send out the defense forces, and he was still doing so even now. "Don't just stand there, do it," Yuna shouted when someone said that they were going to need to regroup if they did not want to be wiped out.

"We're waiting for your orders," the acting commander informed him.

"That's ridiculous," Yuna protested. He then gained a mildly devious smirk as he then informed the commander, "So that means if we lose, it'll be your fault."

The commander could not believe that Yuna was so quick to try and force the blame for his actions onto someone else, and it clearly was a shared feeling among everyone else in the room as they all turned to throw disgusted glares at the ponytailed politician. Before anything else could be said though, one of the soldiers reported, "Colonel, fresh reinforcements seemed to have arrived off shore. Their identification codes say they're from the _Takemikazuchi_."

"Are you sure," the colonel asked in surprise.

The officer just nodded as another soldier then added, "Also picking up an unknown mobile suit. It's leading the Marasames straight towards us."

A minute later, the image of the Akatsuki flying towards them appeared on the main monitor, shocking everyone at its appearance, and then shocking them even further when Cagalli's voice called out, _"This is the daughter of Uzumi Nara Athha, Cagalli Yulla Athha. Defense Headquarters, do you copy? Some of you may have doubts because of my sudden return, but can you put the commander in chief on please?"_

"Cagalli, Cagalli, Cagalli! You've come to rescue me," Yuna shouted happily into the radio he had instantly grabbed while everyone was staring at Cagalli's new machine in surprise. "Oh thank heavens! You are my goddess! The commander in chief, surprise, it's me!"

_"…Yuna,"_ Cagalli identified in a barely repressed snarl. _"Are you saying you recognize me to be Cagalli Yulla Athha, the chief representative of the Orb Union?"_

"Of course, of course, of course," Yuna instantly replied. "There's no doubt in my mind who you are! It's the real Cagalli alright!"

Yuna did not know that Cagalli was smirking the minute he confirmed what she was asking, nor what she was going to do until she finally ordered, _"Then I hereby use my authority to issue the following order: Soldiers, for the crime of treason, I want you to arrest and restrain Yuna Roma Seiran."_

Yuna' face instantly fell and froze in surprise until the colonel shouted, "It's an order! We're taking you into custody!"

Yuna barely had time to react to that before he was punched right in the face and dog-piled by the soldiers that he was "commanding", and ended up protesting like the overgrown child he was as the soldiers continued to do what they could to hold him where he was and then some. As this continued, Cagalli continued to order, _"Get Yuna to cough up Djibril and the Eradicons' whereabouts. Unato is with the cabinet. Get him on the line."_ She then opened a channel to all the soldiers of her homeland and called out, _"Orb Forces, as of this moment, I am taking command. Is that clear?"_

A unanimous ma'am was her immediate response, and she immediately began issuing new orders to the remaining forces. _"All remaining Astray teams gather at Takemisugata, deploy two teams of Marasames to give them cover. We must protect our homeland! Everyone lend me your strength, and do not fear. Further reinforcements for dealing with the enemy Transformers are on their way now!"_

Everyone who had heard Cagalli's voice was immediately elated by the fact that their young leader had finally returned and was now fighting alongside them, but they were just as quickly confused when she mentioned that reinforcements that were geared specifically towards stopping the enemy Transformers were coming as well. Before anyone could ask, a pair of Astrays was suddenly pinned down by a Decepticon squad, led by Onslaught and the now one-eyed Breakdown. Cagalli had immediately noticed this and tried to move to try and assist them, but she was quickly cut off by the Seeker siblings, Blast Off and Vortex. The five flyers all fired on Cagalli's machine, but the Akatsuki simply just floated in the air as it seemed to absorb the energon blasts and then reflect them right back to their sources, forcing the flyers to all dodge at the last second.

Just as Vortex and Blast Off were preparing to launch another attack on the golden Gundam, a barrage rained down on them from above, and they and their fellow flyers all immediately looked up and then gasped in shock when they saw the Aerialbots flying in and laying into them with everything they had. "We've got this, Cagalli," Silverbolt shouted as he transformed and flew up alongside the blonde while firing his Photon Burst Rifle. "You just get to the Defense Headquarters!"

"Okay," Cagalli replied, and she immediately blasted off in the direction of the facility that Silverbolt had just mentioned.

When he saw what had happened in the sky, Onslaught immediately cried out, "What the scrap is this?! I thought that Sentinel said they were destroyed!"

"Think again 'Con," another voice suddenly shouted as the sounds of multiple engines and large, heavy footsteps reached the audio receptors of the 'Cons that were still cornering a pair of Marasames. Onslaught immediately spun around and saw the Wreckers and Bumblebee's group racing up to them just before they transformed and opened fire on both the Decepticons and the Autobot traitors with them as Hound opened fire with one of his guns and continued to shout out, "You want to dance? Then COME ON!"

The three Wreckers were quick to drive the Decepticons back as they made their way to the shore, while Bumblebee, Arcee, Ironhide, and the Dinobots dealt with the ones that had managed to stay where they were. When the pilots of the mobile suits saw Grimlock's tyrannosaurus form, they instantly freaked out a bit until Bumblebee calmed them down enough to assure them that Grimlock and his team were not enemies. After the mobile suits had taken off to carry out Cagalli's orders, Bumblebee paused in his firing on enemy troops to tell Grimlock, "You might want to have your team return to robot mode for a bit so that you guys don't accidentally scare anyone else on our side."

"Okay," Grimlock grunted as he did as Bumblebee suggested before pulling out his sword and slashing through some enemies that were about to get the drop on them.

Bumblebee just smirked at the sight of the enemy recognizing Grimlock and his team before running away in fear as fast as they could, for what good it did, until Cagalli called out to inform him that they had taken the Defense Headquarters and that she needed him over there as soon as possible. Upon hearing this, Bumblebee called out, "Ironhide, I need you to handle things here for a minute! Grimlock, come with me!"

The two 'Bots just nodded in acknowledgement before they moved to carry out the acting leader's orders.

* * *

The minute she had landed her machine outside of Defense Headquarters, Cagalli had immediately raced inside with Kisaka close behind her, finding a beaten and bruised Yuna the minute they had gotten inside. Yuna had tried to plead his case to Cagalli, but the blonde did not even want to hear any of his excuses and instead just slammed her fist into his face, adding further insult to injury. A minute later, Cagalli had hoisted Yuna up by the collar of his shirt and demanded he tell her where Djibril and Lockdown were hiding, only for Yuna to insist that he did not know and then he started to go on a small tirade on why he was insulted at the fact she seemed to believe he would harbor alien freaks. Keyword being "started" as Cagalli just hit him in the one place no man wants to be hit before he could get very far.

Seeing that she was not getting anywhere, Cagalli just hoisted Yuna up by the scruff of his neck and threw him outside, at which point Yuna demanded, "What are you hoping for? That some explosion might happen close by and I'll be frightened enough to tell you something other than what I've already said?"

His answer came in the form of a large foot slamming down behind him, and Yuna immediately turned around to see Grimlock standing over him as he roared, "Puny ponytail man tell Cagalli where Eradicons and other bad man hiding, now!" When he saw Yuna immediately paling at the sight of him, Grimlock quickly became sheepish as he said, "Whoops. Me, Grimlock not supposed to scare puny humans."

"No, actually it's okay this time, Grimlock," Bumblebee told the Dinobot as he came up behind him. "You can scare this particular human as much as you like." Grimlock's response to this statement was to transform into his dinosaur mode and then let out a mighty roar in Yuna's face, which led to something that Bumblebee found hilarious. "Oh Primus! I think he just lubricated himself," Bumblebee laughed.

"You! This is your fault," Yuna shouted. "None of this would've happened if you and your lot of alien freaks had just kept to your own part of the galaxy!"

Yuna was cut off before he could get another word out when Bumblebee slammed his fist into the ground and snarled, "Let me make something very clear to you, _Seiran_. I don't like you at all, I never did, and considering that's coming from me, that's really saying something. That being said, you should consider yourself lucky that there were a lot of things keeping me from squashing you like the annoying little bug you are under my pedes, the most dominant of those things being Optimus's orders to not harm humans, and the fact that the Autobot code wouldn't allow me to even if Optimus had never given those orders. Now, my partner, Grimlock here, he doesn't have that problem, because one, he never received those orders from Optimus, and two, he's actually a Dinobot. That means that he has a very, _very_ short temper, and gets angry very easily, like say when certain egotistical, pompous, brats don't tell me and my friends what we want to know. Also, he has a very large appetite and well, he hasn't eaten today so…"

Yuna just looked on at Grimlock in fear as the metal tyrannosaurus just gave a large toothy grin as he growled, "Me, Grimlock wonder what humans like ponytail man taste like. Maybe chicken!"

That little bit of persuasion was all it took for Yuna to crack and then scream like a little baby girl as he shouted out, "I swear I don't know where they are! Djibril was at our house this morning but he said he was going to be trying to leave later in the day, and Lockdown was going to be going with him along with the other Eradicons! They had already left by the time the attack had started! That's all I know, I swear! PLEASE DON'T LET HIM EAT ME!"

Bumblebee just glared at Yuna for a few, tense minutes before he finally ordered, "Grimlock, stand down. He's telling the truth."

"Are you sure, Bumblebee," Cagalli asked.

"No one can hide anything from Grimlock when he's interrogating them," Bumblebee informed Cagalli. "Trust me, I've heard about what happened to some guys who tried back on Cybertron."

Cagalli nodded and then threw Yuna over to some of the soldiers before telling them to lock Yuna up so that he could stand trial, even though everyone was pretty sure of what the verdict was likely going to be. Cagalli then looked to Kisaka and said, "I'm heading back out there in the Akatsuki. Have our forces track down Djibril and the Eradicons. Hopefully, finding them and turning them over to Z.A.F.T. and their allies will stop this battle before it gets any worse. Kisaka, you're in command." When Kisaka looked like he was about to argue, Cagalli immediately added, "I know that the commander should be here at they're post, but I'd be better off out there fighting with our forces. I can't just ask them to risk their lives while I hide in a base giving orders. Besides, between the two of us, which one of us would be the better person to command our forces from here, Kisaka?"

Kisaka thought that over for only a few minutes before he smiled and nodded in acceptance of Cagalli's reasoning, allowing Cagalli to board her machine once again before flying off back into the battle with Bumblebee and Grimlock right behind her.

* * *

Shortly after the Akatsuki, Bumblebee, and Grimlock had rejoined the battle, the _Xanthium_ and the _Minerva_ had arrived onsite, and the majority of the two ships' crews were shocked to find that something was keeping Starscream's forces at bay just as much as the Z.A.F.T. forces were being held back. Sentinel had immediately demanded an explanation for this, and Blur was quick to reply, "Sir, sensors indicate Autobot signals fighting alongside Orb. ID scans have them registered as the _Omega II_ Autobots, which is really bizarre since everyone else and I all thought for sure that they were done for, finished, toasted…"

"We get it Blur," the current compliment of the _Xanthium_'s bridge crew shouted.

Sentinel then demanded, "Who's leading them?"

Blur checked his readouts before replying, "Unknown sir, but given the readings it could possibly be Bumblebee, which is a reasonable explanation since Orion Pax trusted him so much and he has shown that he is quite capable after Junius Seven, but further more I'm getting some unknown signals along with them which may indicate that they now have received new troops."

Sentinel just nodded before he turned to his crew and said, "Blur, I'm leaving you in command of the ship. Blaster, you and your Mini-Cons will fill the necessary posts. Everyone else, you're with me. Today's the day we end the lives of Orion Pax's followers and their efforts once and for all."

Aside from the members of Sentinel's inner circle, the Autobots of the _Xanthium_ all gave a hesitant yes sir in response to Sentinel's orders before following their commanding officer to the weapons locker to gather their weapons and then the launch deck so that they could deploy. Not a moment after they did, the Destiny had blasted off from the _Minerva_ to engage the Orb mobile suits as well. "Shinn, what are you doing out here," Sentinel called out.

"I'm acting on my authority as an agent of FAITH," Shinn responded shortly.

Sentinel was not entirely sure where Shinn's sudden attitude towards him had come from, but elected to ignore it for now and just nodded as he ordered his troops to move forward into the battlefield. The minute the _Xanthium_ Autobots had reached the heart of the battle, they immediately engaged the Autobots who were defending Orb, and immediately proved beyond a doubt just how vastly outnumbered Bumblebee's team really was. Despite this fact, it was plain as day that the _Omega II_ Autobots were no longer holding anything back, as they charged in and attacked the traitors of their team with a mighty ferocity. The most notable examples of this came from the battle between Wheeljack and Drift, and the battle that had broken out between Arcee and Chromia, with both of the two female 'Bots having made sure that their forces understood that the sisters were going to each deal with the other personally.

Arcee was quick to engage Chromia as soon as the latter had landed before her, but despite whatever attacks she threw at Chromia, it seemed that the older sibling of the two was able to deflect, parry, or block every blow that the other thrown her way. When Arcee landed and spun around after having a spin kick blocked, she immediately fired a powerful blast from her Plasma Blaster which hit Chromia dead center. Sadly, this little moment of success did not last long as Chromia simply flipped back onto her feet and then fired a consecutive series of blasts at Arcee in response, the whole time mocking her saying, "How quickly you forget, Little Cee. I always was the better fighter."

Cagalli had tried to intercept at least a few of the _Xanthium_ forces, but her efforts were cut off when the Destiny had swooped in and slashed its anti-ship sword at her. Cagalli then attempted to return fire with her beam rifle, but the Destiny was quick to deflect the shot's with its sword before charging in for another attack. Thinking quickly, Cagalli holstered the rifle and then pulled out the Akatsuki's twin beam saber to meet the Destiny in sword combat. The minute their two swords collided, Cagalli immediately called out, "Shinn, stand down! You don't have to do this!"

"Sorry Lady Cagalli, but I'm afraid that I do have to. At least, for the moment," Shinn clarified as he tapped his controls loud enough for Cagalli to hear. When Cagalli did, she realized that Shinn was speaking to her in the same code that she and the others had established amongst themselves, and upon translating the message in her head, she immediately smirked and tapped a reply back to Shinn to say she understood before she pushed him away.

Just as the two mobile suit pilots charged in again, the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_ arrived on the battlefield just in time to engage the _Minerva_ and the _Xanthium_. Naturally, nearly everyone on the latter pair of ships was mildly shocked to see the supposedly destroyed ships had survived and now appeared before them, but they were quick to shake off their surprise in time to prepare to duel it out with the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_. At one point, a few of the _Minerva_'s missiles seemed as though they were going to strike the _Archangel_, but just before they could, a Sky Grasper suddenly swooped in and shot them down.

"Where'd that Sky Grasper come from," Sai exclaimed. "Is it Jetfire or Jetstorm?"

"Not a chance," Jazz replied from the _Omega II_. "The Jet brothers are engaging the Protectobots and the Decepticon combiners with the rest of the Aerialbots."

"Then who," Miriallia started to ask, until she was interrupted by the pilot of the Sky Grasper himself.

_"Sorry. Kinda cut you off,"_ Neo Roanoke chuckled over the radio. The blonde man had been given use of the Sky Grasper a little while before the _Archangel_ had left its hangar so that he could return to his own forces, which led to Murrue giving a teary farewell as she voiced her beliefs that it seemed he really was not Mu after all.

"What are you," Murrue instantly stuttered.

_"You see, I've got a score to settle with Sentinel and his lot,"_ Neo replied. He then gave a confident smirk as he added, _"Don't worry. You guys are going to win, and that's because I've got a real knack for making the impossible possible."_

The minute he cut off his transmission, Murrue and Natarle both gasped in shock after they heard Neo say Mu's old catchphrase to them in the exact same way that Mu La Flaga himself used to say it, and that small fact immediately led Murrue to shed a few tears for a moment as she realized that there was definitely a chance she was wrong before when she thought that Neo was not Mu.

Unfortunately, their good fortune was about to be shattered after Miriallia picked up a distressing reading on her terminal. "Captain, the enemy Autobots are beginning to overwhelm the others!"

* * *

The fact that the Autobots were being overwhelmed and subsequently captured by the _Xanthium_ forces was soon sent over to Bumblebee when Ratchet and Jazz both detected the same thing, and upon seeing that the Akatsuki and Destiny were in the midst of fighting each other, Bumblebee knew that there was not a very likely chance that they could get help to his team from any mobile suit forces. It was at that exact moment when he saw the Aerialbots get blasted out of the sky by Defensor, and then slammed into the ground by both Bruticus and Devastator, right before his optics fell on both of the two leaders of their current opposition.

When Bumblebee had finally spotted both Sentinel and Starscream standing atop the _Xanthium_ like a pair of gods looking down on those beneath them in arrogant victory, he could not help but snarl in anger for a minute until he made a decision that he knew would likely lead them to victory. "Grimlock, on me," Bumblebee shouted out to the only Autobot that was either available or not currently being taken prisoner by the enemy. "We're going straight for Sentinel and ending this!"

Grimlock immediately nodded as he assumed his tyrannosaurus mode and charged towards Sentinel and Starscream's position. Just as he was passing by Bumblebee, the acting Autobot leader leaped up and landed on Grimlock's back so that he could ride on the large Dinobot like a horse. "Hey! Me, Grimlock not transport! Get off," Grimlock immediately protested.

"Be quiet and keep going," Bumblebee just told him. "You charge and I'll shoot."

Grimlock ended up nodding in agreement with Bumblebee and did exactly what the scout had told him, barreling his way through whatever was in his path so long as they were not allies, all while Bumblebee fired on approaching enemies and even a few stray enemies with the Path Blaster he had grabbed before leaving the base. Eventually, they reached the point where the only thing between them and the two commanders was the water, and upon seeing this, Grimlock immediately ran up a make-shift ramp and leaped up as high as he could with every ounce of power his legs could give him. The two sailed through the air until they finally landed on the _Xanthium_ with a massive bang, after which, Grimlock swung his tail around and knocked Starscream away just before launching a blast of fire from his mouth at the Seeker.

Seeing that Grimlock would be keeping the current Decepticon leader busy for the moment, Bumblebee jumped off the Dinobots back and opened fire on Sentinel upon his descent. As he landed before the treacherous Prime, Bumblebee had thrown a powerful blow at the Prime which he then followed up by firing his Path Blaster at point blank range. The action had caused Sentinel to become disoriented for a few moments, but he was quick to recover and intercept Bumblebee's next attack with his arm, following up by firing his left arm guns in a counterattack. Bumblebee was easily knocked back by the action Sentinel had just taken, but the scout was able to recover quickly enough to avoid having his arm crushed under Sentinel's pedes at the cost of losing his Path Blaster.

"You're very brave to continue fighting for a hopeless cause Bumblebee," Sentinel admitted. "But even so, you are no Prime."

"You're right, I'm not a Prime," Bumblebee growled as he flicked out both of his new wrist blades. "But neither are you, traitor!"

With that declaration, Bumblebee charged in and engaged Sentinel once again, swords swinging, but sadly, it did not seem like Bumblebee was likely to win his battle when Sentinel began to overpower him while Starscream was able to get the drop on Grimlock with an underhanded trick that forced the Dinobot leader into robot mode.

* * *

Shinn had noticed what was happening to the Autobots from the corner of his eye, but when he saw Bulkhead and Bumblebee both getting beaten down by Breakdown and Sentinel respectively, he immediately began to worry, and his moment of distraction caused Cagalli to land a powerful hit to his side, making him lose the Destiny's shield. "Keep your eyes on your opponent, you brat," Cagalli shouted as she charged again.

Shinn only smirked as he admitted, "I've gotta say, you're actually really good. I think I can see why you ended up fighting in a mobile suit during the final battle of the last war."

"Well what did you except," Cagalli quipped in reply. "After all, I am Kira's twin sister."

"Wait, you mean you guys really are related," Shinn exclaimed as the Destiny parried a strike from the Akatsuki before firing its beam cannon at the gold mobile suit. "I thought that was just a rumor."

"Nope, it's a fact," Cagalli replied as she absorbed the shot and reflected it back at the Destiny.

"Great," Shinn muttered as he avoided his reflected blast and swung his sword at the Akatsuki again. "Now I feel even more lousy about how my last battle with the Freedom ended."

"Oh don't worry. I'll be sure to rectify that soon enough," Cagalli then cried out, and the moment she did, she entered SEED Burst mode, allowing her combat skills to instantly turn up in intensity.

Shinn was initially caught off guard by Cagalli's sudden increase in combat prowess, but he was quick to shake it off and then enter SEED Burst as well, and thus the battle between the two Gundams became one that many would later consider themselves fortunate to have not gotten caught in the middle of.

* * *

As he watched the battles unfold on the monitor, along with the other Autobots being forced onto their knees to show that they had been captured and were likely about to be killed, Smokescreen finally let out a groan of frustration as he declared, "I can't just sit here anymore! I have to go out there and help."

"Nyah-ah-ah-ah! You are not going anywhere," Ratchet said. "If they need our help, then they'll call us, but until then…"

Ratchet was immediately interrupted when a long beep reached both his and Smokescreen's audio receptors, and while it was a bit soft, it seemed to echo across the room very loudly, because that beep was coming from the spark monitor that Optimus was hooked up to. The two then looked to where Optimus was lying just in time to see his chest open up to reveal the Matrix glowing brightly as it prepared to begin seeking out a worthy successor. "By the AllSpark," Ratchet gasped.

"No," Smokescreen protested. "This can't be…this isn't how his story is supposed to end."

The minute after he said this, Smokescreen had immediately run over and grabbed the Forge of Solus Prime from where it had been left, and then started to drag it over to Optimus. "What do you think you're doing," Ratchet exclaimed.

"What we should've done all along," Smokescreen immediately replied with solid determination, and with that said, he practically threw the handle of the large hammer into Optimus's open hand. The minute the Forge had touched Optimus's hand, it began to crackle and glow with blue electricity until it finally released a massive burst of energy that caused both Ratchet and Smokescreen to cover their optics for a minute.

When they finally opened their optics again, they were greeted with an amazing sight that they could hardly believe, because the minute they saw this particular sight, they knew in an instant that the battle was far from over, and Smokescreen's actions had just given them one of the very edges that they would need to win.

* * *

Bumblebee cried out in pain as Sentinel knocked him to the ground once again, and as he struggled to rise, Bumblebee could see Sentinel slowly walking towards him as he pulled out the Energon Saber. Just as Sentinel was raising the sword though, a loud roar reached his audio receptors and he could only glance in the direction of the source before Grimlock slammed into him after having knocked Starscream against the nearby wall off the _Xanthium_'s upper deck. Soon after, Grimlock had pinned Sentinel beneath him and as the Dinobot slammed his fists into Sentinel, he punctuated every blow with a word as he yelled out, "Grimlock smash Sentinel! Make Sentinel pay for what he do to Optimus!"

Just before Grimlock could land another devastating blow on him, Sentinel was able to raise the shoulder cannons on his flight-tech modulator and fired them directly into Grimlock's face. Grimlock was not injured by the attack of course, but the suddenness of it did cause him to become disoriented enough for Starscream to knock Grimlock off his feet with a missile barrage. Seeing the Dinobot now struggling to rise up from beneath the number of Vehicons that were now jumping to hold him down, Sentinel only walked over to Bumblebee and openly mocked, "So this was your mighty team of Autobot rebels, Bumblebee? A rag tag group of what was left of your team and four brutes with a mindless leader? I must admit I'm actually disappointed." Sentinel then raised the Energon Saber up once more as he then said, "Prepare to join your precious librarian in the AllSpark."

The minute Sentinel said that, he had expected Bumblebee to lose every last bit of hope from his optics and submit himself to the inevitable fate, but instead he ended up raising an eyebrow in confusion as Bumblebee had actually ended up letting out a weak laugh. "You find meeting your end humorous," Sentinel asked in confusion.

"No," Bumblebee explained. "I'm laughing at the irony. Megatron had ended up saying nearly the same thing to Optimus just before I ran a sword through his spark."

Sentinel's face contorted with rage as he prepared to strike down Bumblebee in blind fury, until Starscream suddenly stopped him when he cried out, "Wait. What's that?"

Sentinel glanced in the direction that Starscream had indicated and saw that there seemed to be something heading towards them. Upon seeing this, he immediately radioed Blur asking if he had anything on the object. _"Sir, scanners indicate that the approaching object has an Autobot signal,"_ Blur reported in his usual high speed voice. _"But there's something really strange about it. The signal seems familiar, but at the same time it's not, almost as though it's a previously recognized signal that has been altered somehow and it's moving really, really fast through air, but it's not the Aerialbots since they've all been defeated and have now been taken prisoner by the Protectobots and our Decepticon allies."_

"Blur, can you just shut up and tell me if you have any guesses as to what it might be," Sentinel cut in before Blur could go any further.

_"No sir,"_ Blur replied, giving what was his shortest, and quickest reply in a long time.

* * *

"Captain, there's something heading in the direction of the _Xanthium_," Miriallia reported from the _Archangel_'s current position. "But there's something strange about it. It appears to be an airborne Autobot signal."

"But that's impossible," Natarle immediately argued. "The only aerial Autobots that are even on the battlefield at the moment are the Aerialbots, Swoop, and all the ones from Sentinel's team, and they're all still on the ground right?"

"That's affirmative ma'am," Sai confirmed.

"Jazz, do you have any idea what it might be," Murrue quickly asked.

"No, but I just checked in with Ratchet," Jazz reported. "All he told me was that reinforcements were inbound now. Strange thing was, he sounded really happy when he said it."

Everyone glanced at each other in both awe and wonder as they silently asked each other why Ratchet would have sounded happy right now, until Miriallia detected another reading on her scanner. "Another contact is headed for the battlefield," Miriallia then called out. "No wait, it's two contacts, from space."

"Is it Z.A.F.T.," Natarle asked.

"No ma'am," Sai replied. "It's transmitting friendly signals that we use, but the frequency was only ever used by…"

"By what, Sai," Murrue asked.

"…By the Freedom," Sai finally finished.

* * *

From where they were, the Autobots of _Omega II_ were all forced down on their knees as the _Xanthium_ Autobots and their Decepticon allies encircled them, weapons primed on each of them to show that they would not hesitate to kill them if they moved. "Hound, please tell me you've got an idea," Ironhide whispered.

"Sorry, 'Hide," Hound replied. "I've nearly run out of guns, and I've run completely out of ideas."

At that statement, the gathering of Autobots all glanced at one and other in sadness for a minute until Wheeljack finally said, "We had a good run, huh Bulk?"

Bulkhead looked at his old friend for a minute before he finally chuckled, "Yeah, we did Jackie."

"Aerialbots," Silverbolt then announced. "It has been both my honor, and a privilege to have led you and fought beside you."

"Same here, old bloke," Jetfire replied.

"I agree," Jetstrom added.

"No other 'Bots I would've been more proud to be one of," Air Raid then added.

"Yeah, you guys are my best buds till the end," Wing Saber quickly told his friends.

"This isn't over yet," Arcee suddenly said. All the Autobots looked at her for a minute like she had grown a second head, until Arcee explained, "I'm not giving up so easily, not just because Optimus would never do that, but because it's just who I am. That's how Bumblebee wanted us to fight today, and I'm not letting him down."

Elita One immediately nodded in agreement as she said, "Arcee's right. It's not over until the last bit of energon juice is gone, so I'm not going to quit until I have no other choice, and there's always another choice."

"Oh will you all just shut it," Scattershot shouted. "You guys all make me sick with your little emotional spasms, your oh so precious determination. Just give it a rest and admit defeat you little traitors!"

"Not a chance," Swoop retorted. "Real Autobots don't give up and submit to the 'Cons like you guys have, and besides that, Dinobots are too stubborn to even think of quitting."

"Yeah, there's no way we're giving up, no matter what you say," Snarl immediately added.

"Besides, I'd sooner let Grimlock have my spark when he's in a really bad mood than give up," Slug quickly quipped out, and despite the fact that some would think it was merely a bluff, it actually was true.

Scattershot looked around and saw that all of the Autobots had now gained renewed confidence in their fight, and the sight of this only proved to infuriate him to the point where he told the gathered troops to prepare to kill them all. When Crosshairs and Drift refused to move, Scattershot immediately slugged them both for their insubordination and then aimed his own weapons at the two, an action that prompted everyone else to prepare to fire. Just as Scattershot was about to give the order, Sentinel radioed him saying, _"Scattershot, there's something approaching from the direction of your position. Can you identify it?"_

Before the _Xanthium_ Wrecker could answer, said object had blasted overhead at high speed, which disoriented those who were standing simply from watching it go by for a second as Scattershot responded, "Sorry Sentinel, but whatever that thing is, it just blew past us at some seriously high speeds. I never even got a glimpse of it."

* * *

The Destiny and the Akatsuki were approaching each other to launch another attack, when the object that had captured everyone's attention suddenly blew past them, causing them both to freeze in shock at the shockwave that the object had caused as it passed. As Shinn just continued to look on at the object as it flew towards the _Xanthium_, Cagalli looked on in shock as she muttered, "I know that color scheme."

Unknown to Cagalli, Starscream had just said the same thing aloud, which prompted Bumblebee and Grimlock to both look up in the direction that the Seeker and Sentinel were facing right when Sentinel's face gained a shocked look of recognition that would cause one to think he had just seen a ghost. When Starscream gained the same expression, he immediately protested, "Wait, that's impossible. He can't fly…Can he?"

His answer came soon enough as a large, red and blue Transformer suddenly landed on the deck and spun around landing three consecutive punches on Sentinel before knocking him clear across the deck with one final jab straight into Sentinel's chest. The figure then reached for a handled on the back of his large, silver backpack and pulled out a red and black Minigun, which he then used to fire multiple blasts into each of the Vehicons on the deck. The very moment his and Grimlock's rescuer had ceased fire, Bumblebee had finally managed to rise up to his feet again just as Grimlock had slammed an uppercut into Starscream, and when he got a good look at the Transformer before him, Bumblebee immediately gasped in recognition of the Transformer.

The figure had a large torso, arms and legs, and broad shoulders, along with a silver jetpack on his back, but there was still no possible way in the entire universe for Bumblebee to not recognize the blue helmet the figure had for a head, or the red and blue color scheme he sported, and his suspicions on who this Transformer was proved to be true when the figure disengaged his battle mask and looked to Grimlock as he exclaimed in a stoic, familiar tone of voice, "Grimlock? Is that you?"

"Optimus," Bumblebee gasped in surprise.

"Optimus look good for dying mech," Grimlock commented.

"Feeling good old friend," Optimus informed the Dinobot leader. "In fact, I am feeling better than ever. Now then, what is the situation?"

"Sir," Bumblebee immediately snapped to attention. "Kisaka has taken over command at the Orb Defense Headquarters and is leading the troops in doing everything they can to locate both Djibril and the Eradicons, acting on the belief that if we turn them over to Z.A.F.T. and the _Xanthium_, they will likely leave Orb in peace. Our own forces are doing everything they can, but we're vastly outnumbered, especially since the Decepticons joined up with Sentinel's forces."

"How can I help," Optimus then asked.

"Sir," Bumblebee asked, completely thrown off by that question.

"You started this mission as leader, Bumblebee," Optimus explained. "It is only fitting that you finish it as such."

Bumblebee gained a proud smirk as he nodded in response before saying, "We'll need you to support Cagalli and the Akatsuki while disabling the enemy ships so that they can't launch any further attacks."

"Understood Commander Bumblebee," Optimus lightly teased before he reactivated his battle mask and ran towards the edge of the deck. Just before he jumped off and activated his jetpack again, Optimus quickly added, "Also, we are about to receive further reinforcements in a matter of minutes, both on the ground and from space."

Bumblebee could only smile in relief as he barely suppressed a laugh when he called out, "Bumblebee to all points, we're not out of this fight yet. We just got some major reinforcements. Optimus is back."

* * *

When the Autobots of Bumblebee's team heard what he said, they all instantly smirked in response just before Wheeljack reached back and whipped out his swords, slashing apart the Vehicons that were trying to hold him where he was, which led to all the other 'Bots whipping out their own default weapons and bashing, slashing, or firing their way out of their current predicament. "What are you doing? Stop them," Scattershot demanded. "That's not Orion Pax, they're just crazy!"

"I think that's the other way around, bastard," a new voice suddenly shouted, and Scattershot spun around just in time to be met with a hard fist to his face, courtesy of Smokescreen, who had just raced onto the scene.

"Smoke, that you," Crosshairs exclaimed when he saw the young Autobot and his new paint job.

"You know it," Smokescreen replied as he armed his Energon Bow and opened fire on anything that was not with his new team.

Chromia could only snarl at the young Autobot that had managed to escape somehow, and was about to fire on him, when Arcee suddenly raced up and unleashed a brutal barrage on her as she said, "You were only half right before, Chromia. You always _were_ the better fighter, but that was a long time ago, and is nowhere near true anymore."

Chromia only roared in anger before activating her blasters and firing everything she had at Arcee, but Arcee just barely moved all that much to avoid the attacks almost as though they were not anything more than mere flies, proving her point as easily as you could.

* * *

_"I repeat, Optimus Prime has returned,"_ Bumblebee continued to call out, as his message was instantly received by the _Archangel_ and _Omega II_, along with the Defense Headquarters, which led everyone to let out cheers out excitement and joy as they all hooped and hollered in their joy at the news of Optimus's return to action. The sudden excitement also served to increase the moral of everyone on the battlefield as they all found themselves invigorated by the fact that having Optimus back with them, almost as though it was living proof that their battle was as good as won.

* * *

_"Once again, Optimus Prime is alive, well, and better than ever,"_ Bumblebee repeated one more time before cutting his transmission, which led Cagalli to let out her own cheer of excitement while Shinn kept his own in his head. That excitement was quickly shattered when the Seeker siblings suddenly swooped down on the Akatsuki, and led Shinn to think that the Orb leader was done for until something suddenly blasted the attackers from above, destroying the enemy flyers in an instant.

"Now what," Thundercracker demanded, and his answer came as soon as he looked up, for when he did, he was greeted with the sight of a white and black mobile suit with blue wings and gold highlights, and a dark red mobile suit descending from space right towards him. The blue winged mobile suit then brought its right arm back as it changed into a sword, and then brought its weapon down on Thundercracker before spinning around and changing its free hand into a blaster which it then fired on the other Seekers.

"No way," Shinn exclaimed when he finally got a good look at the suit. "Is that…the Freedom?!"

Shinn was technically half right, because there before him was none other than the Strike Freedom Gundam in all its glory as it flew around the battlefield, dealing with every enemy that it came into contact with as it went. "Cagalli, help escort Lacus aboard the _Archangel_," Kira called out to his sister.

"What," Cagalli exclaimed. "Lacus is the one piloting that other machine?"

"Please hurry," Kira just shouted. "Athrun's going to need that suit if he really wants to help."

Cagalli brought herself out of her shock and then just nodded as she led the red machine back to the _Archangel_, both of them only making a mild note of the Destiny returning to the _Minerva_ to resupply as they did.

* * *

As soon as she had brought the machine she was in aboard, Lacus was immediately greeted by Athrun, who had raced down to the hangar as soon as he saw Cagalli guiding the machine in. Athrun only took a moment to note the fact that Lacus was wearing her pink pilot suit for the first time since she had received it from Ratchet before he greeted her saying, "I'm glad you're alright, Lacus."

"Thank you Athrun," Lacus greeted in return. "And how are you?"

Athrun glanced away for a minute before he finally said, "I'm about as well as can be expected."

"I'd imagined you'd be doing a little better than that by now, considering how Kira was talking when he suggested I bring your new mobile suit down to you," Lacus giggled.

Athrun shrugged for a minute before he asked, "So am I expected to take this new Justice Gundam out and be a soldier again?"

Lacus simply smiled as she told him, "That is something that only you can decide. Like Optimus always says, freedom is the right of all sentient beings, and that means that everyone is entitled to choose what they think is best for themselves. Power is whatever one makes of it, and perhaps you are a soldier, but above and beyond that you're still Athrun, the man that Kira would still trust with his life."

Athrun looked at Lacus in a slight bit of awe for a minute before he finally gave her a nod and asked, "So, what's this new machine called?"

Lacus smiled and replied, "It's called the ZGMF-CX19A Infinite Justice Gundam."

Athrun nodded once more before he tapped his belt buckle to activate his pilot suit and said, "I'll be sure to make sure I try to be worthy of it."

"You already are," Lacus assured Athrun. "After all, as Kira and some your other friends would say, once a Gundam pilot, always a Gundam pilot."

Athrun smirked in agreement, and then quickly boarded his new machine. It was only a matter of moments until Athrun was on the launch deck and heading out into battle once again as he cried out, "Athrun Zala. Infinite Justice Gundam, launching!"

* * *

Back on the battlefield, Optimus had been able to render the weapons on most of the enemy ships useless before he ended up fighting alongside Kira and Cagalli as they all engaged Sentinel, the Destiny, and the Legend. "Be careful when dealing with the black machine, sis," Kira called out as he evaded a storm of beam blasts from said machine. "It's just like his."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Cagalli immediately retorted, knowing that Kira was referring to the machine that Rau Le Creuset was piloting at the end of the last war. She then brought her attention to the channel to the Defense Headquarters and asked, "Kisaka, any luck finding Djibril and the Eradicons?"

_"Negative,"_ Kisaka replied. _"There's still no sign of them."_

"Damn it," Cagalli muttered. "They're there somewhere, I'm sure of it. Keep looking!" Before she could say anymore, Cagalli's machine was suddenly hit by a powerful explosion due to the missile barrage Sentinel had sent her way combined with Rey's own barrage.

"Now's your chance, Shinn," Rey shouted out, but the minute he had heard him, Shinn had frozen in shock, because despite the fact that Shinn was in the right position and had the best opportunity to fire on the Akatsuki, he did not want to so long as he knew that Cagalli was piloting it, but even so, he still had to keep up appearances.

Just as his finger was about to hit the trigger, a familiar voice suddenly shouted, "Stop it, Shinn!"

Shinn immediately looked and saw a beam boomerang flying right at him from a dark red mobile suit, and he just barely raised his shield in time to block it, only for the red machine to slam right into him. Despite how hard the blow was, Shinn had found himself more rattled by the voice that had called out to him from the red mobile suit than its attack. "Athrun?! Athrun is that you," Shinn called out in surprise when he finally stabilized his flight.

"Who were you expecting? Omega Supreme," Athrun asked as his face appeared on Shinn's monitor.

"You're…You're alive," Shinn whispered in surprise.

"Shinn, it's just some trick! Don't fall for it," Rey called out as he charged at the Infinite Justice.

"Are you still trying to speak and think for Shinn, when he can do both well enough on his own," Athrun hollered as he one of the Infinite Justice's arms into a blaster and fired at the Legend.

Shinn quickly shook himself out of his shock before he shouted out, "What happened to Meyrin? Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's on the _Archangel_," Athrun confirmed.

"Prove it," Shinn requested.

Athrun only took a minute to contact the ship and put Meyrin on so that she could speak to Shinn, and after confirming that Meyrin was who she claimed to be, Shinn only smirked before he said, "That's all I needed to hear. _Minerva_, send out the Impulse, now!"

There was a small bit of hesitation, but soon enough the Force Impulse Gundam had joined the others on the battlefield, causing Kira and the others to brace themselves for a fight until they saw the Destiny stop where it was. Rey and Sentinel were both completely thrown for a loop at this sight, but they quickly received an even bigger surprise when the Destiny spun around and aimed its beam cannon right at the Legend before firing. "Shinn, what the hell are you doing," Rey cried out as he dodged the blast, only to be hit by a shot from the Impulse.

"Keeping my promise to protect what's important, no matter what," Shinn replied.

* * *

"What does Shinn think he's doing?! Why is he firing on Rey? Why is Lunamaria firing on Rey," Arthur rambled on in bafflement.

Talia, on the other hand only smirked with pride and joy, as she knew exactly what Shinn and Lunamaria's actions meant, and she then ordered, "Helm, bring us around! Set weapons to target the Autobot ship, _Xanthium_!"

"What," Arthur exclaimed. "Captain, what are you doing?"

"Something we should've done a long time ago," Talia replied. "Now prepare to fire those weapons on the enemy ship."

"…I'm sorry Captain, but I can't do that," Arthur told Talia as he aimed a gun at her, shocking the entire bridge crew. "Captain Talia Gladys, by the authority of Z.A.F.T., I'm taking you into custody for treason and attempting to assault allies. Please move away from the captain's seat."

Talia only shook her head in disappointment as she said, "I guess I was right to think you wouldn't do what was right Arthur."

"I said move away from…" Arthur was cut off when he was suddenly hit by a blast from an energon pistol, and everyone turned to see that Yzak was the one who had fired the shot just after he and Heine had stepped out of the elevator, weapons armed.

Talia only nodded at the two before she told them, "Get this trash off my bridge." Heine was more than happy to do so, as Talia tapped the intercom and announced, "Attention all hands. This is Captain Talia Gladys speaking. This ship is about to join up with the _Omega II_ and the _Archangel_, and will then immediately begin fighting against the _Xanthium_, Z.A.F.T., and the Decepticons. I know some of you think this may seem crazy, and maybe it is, but if it means keeping Z.A.F.T. from being controlled by Sentinel, the Decepticons, and Sentinel's fellow traitors, then I will gladly give up my life in order to do so. Anyone who does not share this sentiment will find themselves being ejected from the ship along Former Deputy Captain Arthur Trine, but I assure you, this is the only moment you will receive to back out and leave this ship and its new mission. Gladys out."

After she had ended the transmission, Yzak walked up to Talia and said, "From my best guess, I think that only seven or eight people will end up joining Trine on their trip off the ship."

Talia nodded and then asked, "Yzak, would you please take over Arthur's former post?"

"It would be my pleasure," Yzak nodded as he sat down at the indicated post. He then ordered, "All weapons, prepare to fire on the _Xanthium_. Tistans, Isoldes, fire when ready! Prepare to fire the main cannon as well on my mark." A minute after the previous two weapons had fired on the massive red and silver Autobot ship, the _Minerva_'s main gun was ready to fire, and Yzak immediately shouted, "Fire!"

* * *

The minute Yzak had shouted his order, the _Minerva_'s positron cannon had fired on the massive Autobot ship, and caused the _Xanthium_ to nearly fall out of the sky from the resulting explosion. _"Sentinel Prime, sir,"_ Blaster shouted. _"The _Minerva_ has turned against us! They just fired on the ship, giving explosive results!"_

"ORION," Sentinel shouted as he charged Optimus, but Optimus only back flipped in the air before he outmaneuvered and outpaced Sentinel in the ensuing dog fight between the two. Eventually, Sentinel had to let up in his barrage which gave Optimus the opportunity to spin around and fire his Minigun at Sentinel without even the slightest pause until he finally faced forward again to fly off.

Sentinel only roared in fury of the humiliation that he was being dealt and immediately gave chase, leaving Rey to deal with the five Gundams that were bearing down on him.

* * *

"What the scrap is going on around here," Scattershot shouted. "We're surrounded by traitors!"

"Just goes to show what happens when you try to control other Autobots with fear, doesn't it," Crosshairs asked before he fired his pistols at Scattershot. Scattershot then moved to retaliate, but he was quickly stopped when Drift suddenly slashed him from behind.

"So you're betraying us to, you lousy turncoats," Scattershot sneered at the two.

"Nothing personal Scatter," Crosshairs shrugged. "But if I'm going to stick with an Autobot team, I'll choose the one that doesn't betray what we stand for and then try control their forces through fear any day of the week. Besides, have you been paying attention to what that librarian guy has been able to do for his troops? It's like you just want to die for the guy. Now that's real leadership, or brainwashing like you keep trying to say."

"No my friend," Drift smiled in correction. "That is Optimus Prime."

Scattershot just growled before he finally requested a Ground Bridge back to the ship, which he and the rest of the _Xanthium_ Autobots immediately raced through as best as they could, an action that Kup ended up doing while dragging an infuriated Chromia along with him as the female Autobot was furious at how utterly humiliated she was at being outdone by Arcee at every turn during their battle.

Upon seeing that Crosshairs and Drift were not making any more to leave, Snarl had to ask, "Smokescreen, do you think we can really trust them?"

Smokescreen only smirked in reply as he answered, "Out of all the 'Bots on the _Xanthium_, Crosshairs and Drift were the ones that I trusted the most to stand with me after Tracks, so there's no doubt in my mind that they're cool."

Ironhide only nodded before he readied his cannons and said, "Well, they've still got a good chance to prove it. I can see some Decepticons that need a little ventilation."

"My kind of party," Crosshairs replied as he spun his guns around in his hand before joining Drift and the other Wreckers in charging said Decepticons, with Ironhide and the three Dinobots right behind them.

* * *

At some point while all this was happening, Yuna had tried to make a run for it and escape his captors, but he had quickly gotten himself lost in the middle of the battlefield. When he stopped for a rest, he saw that the Orb soldiers that were holding him were about to catch up and apprehend him once more, and he quickly scrambled to get to his feet. Just before he could move two steps though, a large shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see a large metal machine falling towards where he was standing, and that ended up being the last thing he saw.

When the Orb soldiers approached, the large metal object that had fallen on Yuna rolled over and revealed itself to be Slug in his triceratops mode. After he realized what he had landed on after he received a particularly hard hit to side from Bruticus, Slug immediately said, "Uh, excuse me."

The two Orb soldiers looked at each other before saying, "We didn't see anything."

Slug only nodded and then charged off back towards the battlefield so that he could get back at Bruticus for that hit he threw at the Dinobot.

* * *

Sentinel could easily see that his forces were being driven back, but he would not even stand for the very notion that they could be beaten like this. With that in mind, Sentinel charged at Optimus in anger once again, only for Optimus to swerve around and catch Sentinel by his wings and then shout, "Sentinel…be gone!"

The minute he shouted that, Optimus threw Sentinel back towards the _Xanthium_ as hard as he could, and the treacherous Prime immediately crashed down on his ship. Optimus was about to move to engage another enemy when everyone suddenly saw a shuttle launch from the other side of Onogoro, and it took very little time for everyone to identify the shuttle as Astrotrain. Upon realizing this, Lunamaria instantly blasted towards the Eradicon triple changer knowing that there was a likely chance of the other Eradicons and Djibril being aboard, with the Aerialbots and a team of Marasames joining her a minute later.

The team of pursuers did everything they could to chase down or even shoot down the escaping enemies, but in the end they found themselves struggling just so that they could keep up, and the end results was Astrotrain making it into space with all of his passengers safe and secured. When he saw this, Sentinel finally decided that it was time for him to admit defeat and recalled his forces and Z.A.F.T.'s, allowing Rey to board the _Xanthium_ until he could transfer to a proper Z.A.F.T. ship so that he would not be forced to fly after the retreating forces with such low power. The battle for Orb was finally over, and the Autobots of Team Optimus Prime were victorious.

* * *

That evening, everyone had gathered on the Orb shores to assess the damage that the nation had taken in the battle, while at the same time giving a hero's welcome to the Autobots that had fought so hard for them, along with a hero's welcome back to Optimus. As they continued their efforts, everyone noticed the _Minerva_ had set down a short distance away, and that the captain of the Z.A.F.T. ship and two of her pilots were now approaching them. Everyone was immediately tensed up in anticipation of an attack until Cagalli ordered the soldiers to stand down and then allowed Murrue, Athrun, and Kira to approach the now former Z.A.F.T. soldiers as well, until the two groups were right in front of each other.

After a brief moment, Talia simply smiled and saluted as she said, "Talia Gladys, captain of the _Minerva_, reporting for duty. Ready, willing, and able to serve alongside you."

Murrue then returned the smile, salute, and greeting as she said, "Murrue Ramius, _Archangel_. We're more than happy to have you with us Captain Gladys."

"The honor is all ours," Talia assured Murrue happily.

Upon seeing that the captains had finished exchanging pleasantries, Athrun then walked over to Shinn just as Lunamaria had embraced Meyrin in a tearful hug, with Kira right next to him as he said, "Shinn, this is Kira Yamato, pilot of the Freedom Gundam."

Shinn's eyes widened in shock when he instantly recognized Kira as the man he had met at the memorial some time ago, and he could barely even register when Kira had held out his hand to Shinn until the Freedom pilot asked, "Do you not shake hands or something?"

Shinn finally shook himself out of his daze, and then accepted the handshake as he said, "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"The pleasure's all mine," Kira replied. "But please, just call me Kira. It'll be good to have you with us Shinn; that is, if you're still willing to fight."

"Absolutely," Shinn nodded with confidence.

At this point, Optimus had walked over to them along with the other Autobots so that they could greet their newest human allies as well, which led Miriallia to comment that the new and improved Optimus seemed even better than the old one. Eventually, Optimus had found a chance to speak with his team and said, "I am proud of you all, my Autobots. You handled yourselves bravely and nobly during my absence, and showed that you are true Autobots, if not to the world, then to yourselves and the people of Orb who you fought so hard to defend today."

"We had a pretty good leader," Swoop commented as he threw a glance at Bumblebee.

Optimus nodded in agreement with this as he told the young scout, "Swoop is correct, Bumblebee. You proved that you truly would have been a worthy Prime should I had been forced to pass the matrix on to you."

Bumblebee could only smile in slight embarrassment for a bit before he finally said, "I appreciate that, but in all honesty, I think I'd like to wait a while before I have to lead a team again. Besides, there's only one 'Bot who could lead this team better than anyone else, and that's you, Optimus."

Optimus nodded in consent of Bumblebee's words as he said, "You are ready to lead, Bumblebee, and I have no doubt in my processor that you will make a fine leader for any team, should you ever wish to assume that position again in the future. I can honestly say that I have never been more proud of you or any of our fellow Autobots than I am right now."

Everyone was overjoyed at Optimus's words and the fact that Optimus was still alive and back in action once again, and when one added in the fact that they now had new allies in the forms of the _Minerva_ and its pilots, Crosshairs, and Drift, it was nothing short of amazing that they did not instantly break out into a party, but they all knew that there was no time for that. There was still work to be done before the nightmare they were all facing was over.

* * *

**_AN: Well there you have it. The _Minerva_ has pulled an _Archangel_ and joined up with the real heroes, minus a few members, Optimus is back and better than ever, Crosshairs and Drift have joined up with our heroes as well, and Orb survived Sentinel's onslaught while Sentinel himself got dealt a rather decent pummeling from Grimlock. Now I know some of you might have wanted all of the _Xanthium_ Autobots to join up with our heroes, but I stuck with only Crosshairs and Drift because they are two of the Wreckers on Sentinel's team and, well, we all know how Wreckers are. The remaining members of Sentinel's team will be with him until the end, not because they want to, they just want to keep their heads down and not risk getting scrapped by Sentinel._**

**_Also, How many of you were surprised by the fact that Deputy Captain Arthur Trine tried to pull what he did there when the _Minerva_ was switching sides? In all honesty, that's going to have a big impact later on in this story, the results of which you'll see next chapter. Speaking of which, if you were expecting Rey to join up with Optimus, Kira, and the others along with Shinn, then you must be nuts, because let's face facts, Rey was completely brainwashed since the beginning._**

**_Finally, Optimus Prime's new look. Yes, it is his appearance from Transformers Prime Beast Hunters, and yes, he will have the same vehicle mode from that as well._**

**_That being said, "Ice Wolf Fang" had asked me if Cagalli would be receiving anything beyond the Akatsuki, and the answer, is yes, but that won't happen until the next story, and I won't be saying anything beyond that. Also, yeah I had Cagalli stay in the battle for the entire time and had her use her SEED Burst abilities again. I honestly see Cagalli doing that more than I could see her doing what she did in the original continuity of Gundam SEED Destiny, and really, we saw Cagalli use SEED Burst once, and then it was like she had never used it all. I mean, even Lacus used that ability twice, and she doesn't even pilot a mobile suit! Well, now that that's all done, onto the preview..._**

**_The aftermath of the Battle of Orb leads to many revelations, both for our heroes, and for the world. As the world at large finds itself trying to discover which side of the story is really true, a requiem of destruction plays out and eventually leads the battlefield back into space once more. What sort of things will lead to this, and what preparations shall be taken in Orb before our heroes journey off to save Earth once again? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 21: Return to the Truth****_. Nero Blitz, do what you can to stop that light of destruction!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time._**


	21. Return to the Truth

_**AN: Hey everybody, we're back for another round of Destiny Sentinels, and not only that but we are drawing closer and closer to the end of this story. There's still a few more twists and turns left, but we'll be at the final chapter soon enough, and then the epilogue and then it will finally be time to wait for the final story. Only one thing to do then...PARTY! [hits control that triggers major party music and decorations as the cast appears with drinks and party favors]**_

_**Shinn: Now this is what I'm talking about. Finally, a moment where him hitting that control doesn't lead to me nearly getting killed.**_

_**Rey: Glad you think so. You're not the one who's going to end up stuck as Durandal's obedient little dog until the end still, or at least until after...**_

_**AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control and Helicarrier appears and opens fire on Rey]**_

**_Kira: Wow Shinn, you're two for two today._**

**_Shinn: I know right! But I'm really looking forward to the things that this chapter will be bringing about in the final stages of this story._**

**_Bumblebee: Tell me about it. The battles, the opponents, the final aftermath...it's all really going to bring everything together both for the end of this adventure and the beginning of the final one._**

**_Arcee: Uh Bee, hasn't the author been throwing around ideas of a story that take place between this one and the final story where you hold a star role?  
_**

**_Cagalli: In case you haven't noticed, he kind of already has that along with you, Optimus, Kira, and a lot of others._**

**_AN: Not the point, and that's not important right now. I've got some reviews to answer real quick. So could someone..._**

**_Bumblebee: I've gotcha covered. First up is from "Ice Wolf Fang"_**

**_AN: Ah you mean his question about an OC protagonist in the final story. Yeah, to be honest, that's not likely to happen, mostly because I would kind of like to keep our Earth side characters line up as they are, and I honestly feel like the final story will have its focus on nearly all the heroes that have appeared up til now._**

**_Optimus: I believe that there was also a question from the guest reviewer "King Mack"_**

**_AN: Right, the one about Cagalli sticking around to fight. We'll be answering that question in this chapter._**

**_Shinn: "Lone Gundam" also had a request involving Grimlock._**

**_AN: Well I can honestly say that idea may not be done as requested, but it will definitely find its way into the story, and in a way that I hope will make it even better, or at least funnier in my opinion. That said, let's get the readers onto the story, and ourselves back to the party._**

**_I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Return to the Truth**

The day after the battle on Onogoro, much had happened since the end of the fighting. Ratchet had all but forced the _Minerva_ crew to accept specialized suits like the ones that Kira and the others used, while at the same time assuring them that they would not be any different in basic design than what they were used to appearance wise, and Cagalli and Kisaka were having everyone of the ministers who supported the Seirans interrogated to see if they were still loyal to the ideas and efforts of Unato and Yuna while also having all those who had connections to LOGOS brought in for questioning. Needless to say, the minute the two had confirmed that any of those people were who they had been accused or suspected of being, they were immediately imprisoned for treason and stripped of whatever power they had once held, and Kira was certain that there was a chance that the Orb government would be going through some major changes after all of this was finally over. The biggest thing that had happened after the battle had ended though, had involved Optimus.

After everyone had completed the casualty surveys and damage assessments of the island, Optimus had revealed that using the Forge of Solus Prime had ended up rendering his old vehicle mode unusable, and as such, Optimus was now in need of a new vehicle to scan so that he could transform properly again. That matter was easily taken care of by Erica Simmons, who had brought an ideal vehicle to Optimus as soon as she had heard that he needed it. The minute she had driven it up, Kira and the others all thought that it looked like a large battle truck of some type with six wheels and jet engines, and Erica was quick to explain that the vehicle was actually a state-of-the-art, experimental, all-terrain, expeditionary fighting vehicle designed by the finest engineers in Morgenroete. When Optimus saw the vehicle, he simply said thank you and that it would most certainly do before he scanned the truck and then transformed into his new vehicle mode in order to test it out. They did not see him again for quite a few hours after that, and Bumblebee was quick to say that meant Optimus liked the new vehicle mode and had elected to break it in.

The only other major moment that took place amidst the hard working frenzy had actually happened on the _Archangel_'s upper deck when Neo Roanoke had found himself up there alone with Murrue. The two were both silent for a minute until Neo finally said, "Neo Roanoke: born November twenty-ninth, C.E. forty two, from North Leuba in the Atlantic Federation, blood type O. Enlisted in C.E. sixty, assigned to eighty-first autonomous mobile group, also known as Phantom Pain, captain, or so I thought. But now, I'm not so sure if that's who I really am."

"What," Murrue gasped.

Neo then turned to the woman next to him and simply stared at her for a minute before he told her, "I think that maybe…I know you…Yes, I know you. My body knows, my ears, my arms, my…and that's why I couldn't just fly off. I think I know how hard it's been for you, because it's been hard for me too. I would like to stay right here…with you, by your side."

Murrue could barely believe what she was hearing, as the whole time Neo was saying that last bit, she found she could only stare in shock, as it just seemed to further prove that Neo Roanoke was in fact Mu La Flaga. She was so shocked by this sudden revelation that Murrue could do nothing more than nod in acceptance of Neo's request, and then ended up returning the hug he had embraced her in after a moment. The moment the two were sharing was interrupted shortly after that when Wheeljack walked over and called out, "Hey, sorry to interrupt, but we could use a few human sized helping hands with something over here. Us Autobots can't do everything you know."

Murrue pulled away from Neo after a minute and then told Wheeljack she would ask Natarle to send someone out to help him in just a moment. After Murrue had climbed back into the ship, Wheeljack was about to walk off when Neo called out, "Wait a minute. Before, you said that I was your wingman. Care to explain what you meant by that?"

Wheeljack stared at the blonde man for a moment, thinking that maybe Mu really was in there, and then finally smiled and said, "I honestly think I'd be better off showing you than I would be telling you about it. If you're really going to stick around that is."

Neo smiled in thanks for that and Wheeljack then moved to leave again until he stopped and said, "Of course, we'll have to get you a new mobile suit, since your old one got blown up."

"My Windam wasn't that badly damaged," Neo immediately told Wheeljack.

"Right, forgot about your situation for a minute there," Wheeljack apologized. "I was actually referring to the Perfect Strike."

Neo stared at Wheeljack in confusion for a minute as the Wrecker walked away, and for some reason, Neo suddenly saw the image of a white and blue machine with a red backpack, a large blue sword, a green cannon, and shoulder armor that had mismatched colors fighting alongside the sword wielding Wrecker in battle against the Decepticons for a minute, all from the position inside the cockpit.

* * *

Later that same day, Shinn and Lunamaria were hanging out with Kira, Athrun, Lacus, and Meyrin while the rest of the _Minerva_ crew was getting themselves acquainted with the Autobot base. Shinn had tried apologizing multiple times to Athrun and Meyrin for shooting them down, and to the Autobots for the part he played in Operation: Omega Angel Fall, but all of them had insisted that there was nothing to apologize for, and told him not to worry about it, a fact that Shinn was rather grateful for. Of course, aside from seeing Kira and Athrun's little brotherly relationship in action, there were really only two interesting things that had happened since their arrival at the base in Shinn's opinion.

The first of those two things was that Optimus had decided that it would be best if the _Minerva_ pilots continued to have Autobot guardians for their protection, since there was a strong chance of Sentinel wanting to come after them with a vengeance now. Lunamaria and Dearka both ended up sticking with Crosshairs and Drift since they were already partners, and Yzak ended up being paired with Ironhide, but Shinn's new partner was what really made the young pilot happy to have joined up with them, because the young man had ended up being partnered with none other than his hero, Bulkhead. A little while after he was told of this, Shinn had found out that Bulkhead had actually requested that the two of them were paired up, and that just made the fact that he was going to work with the large Wrecker all the better for Shinn. The second of those things had actually been a bit entertaining for Shinn and the others while also being painful to watch.

Ever since they had arrived and joined up with Optimus's team and Orb, Dearka and Miriallia had been avoiding each other as best they could, and when they were unable to do that, Dearka could only look a bit awkward around the young woman as he seemed to struggle with thinking of something to say, while Miriallia just glared at him that whole time before she finally just huffed and walked away with her nose up. Looking at this, one could naturally understand why it was so difficult for Shinn and the other members of the _Minerva_ crew who did not know the two from before to understand how Dearka and Miriallia were ever a couple. Eventually though, one particular female pilot had finally had enough of watching this go on for almost twenty four hours and finally put her foot down. "Stop being such a child and just talk to her already," Lunamaria scolded Dearka after Miriallia had huffed away again.

"Easy for you to say," Dearka immediately shot back as he shot a nervous yet slightly irritated glance in Miriallia's direction. "You don't know how that girl can be."

"No, but she does know as well as the rest of us do that this has gone on long enough," Athrun immediately cut in. "You two just simply refuse to talk to anyone about what happened between you guys, let alone each other, but now you've got a chance to set things right and try again, and you're both blowing it."

"No kidding," Shinn agreed. "It's simple, just talk to her and get everything out there. I mean you clearly still have feelings for her, so let her know that and that you want to set things right."

"Yeah, like I'm going to take relationship advice from the guy who had to face a serious life-or-death battle before he finally confessed his feelings to the girl he likes," Dearka reminded Shinn.

"Wait, hold on a minute," Athrun immediately interrupted the two before they could get into an argument. "You mean Shinn and Lunamaria are a couple now or something?" The following silence and blushes that both Shinn and Lunamaria gained were more than enough confirmation for Athrun. "Well, it's about damn time!"

"I know, that's what I said," Dearka chuckled, much to Shinn and Lunamaria's embarrassment and slight irritation.

"Can we please get back on topic," Lunamaria demanded as she glared at the two chuckling veterans.

"Trust me, you don't want him to go and talk to Miriallia when she's like that," Kira then informed Lunamaria. "She'll eat him alive if he does and then use what's left of him to pick what's left of him out of her teeth."

"I heard that Kira," Miriallia shouted irritably.

"And yet, you're not denying it," Kira called back. After everyone had gotten a good laugh out of that little moment of quip-pro-quo, Kira looked over to Dearka and said, "Trust me, you'll be able to work things out, and I'm sure that Miriallia will be more than willing to give you another chance, Dearka. You'll be walking on eggshells for the first bit of that chance, but it'll still be a chance."

"Thanks Kira," Dearka sighed with a grateful smile.

"So," Yzak started to say. "Now that both parties in that are here, any chance we could finally find out…"

"NO," Dearka and Miriallia both shouted at the same time.

Yzak just growled in annoyance of this, while his new Autobot partner could only laugh at the silver haired pilot's misfortune in his attempt to find out what happened between the two. Seeing that Yzak was probably going to lose it in a minute, Kira quickly looked to Ratchet and asked, "Hey Ratchet, do you mind bringing up a news channel? Cagalli's going to make a statement to make sure that her intentions are clear."

"I was actually just preparing to do that," Ratchet informed Kira as he tapped the controls of his computer, and everyone quickly gathered around.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea," Shinn asked, worried that whatever Cagalli would say might lead to further action against Orb on Sentinel and Z.A.F.T.'s part.

"Not really, but Cagalli was insistent on doing this," Kira replied. "Trust me, when Cagalli sets her mind to something, it's almost always impossible to change it. Don't worry; we'll be able to deal with any repercussions that come later."

"Quiet you two. It's starting," Bumblebee then hushed as Cagalli appeared on the monitor seated in her office.

_"This is the chief representative of the Orb Union, Cagalli Yulla Athha,"_ the young woman began. _"Today, I'm using the media of the entire world in order to deliver a message to Chairman Gilbert Durandal of the PLANT Supreme Council, and Sentinel Prime of the Autobot ship _Xanthium_, regarding their demands to hand over Lord Djibril and the Eradicons, and their subsequent decision to invade our country. Chairman Durandal and Sentinel's recent speech announcing the groups known as LOGOS and the Eradicons, along with the various pieces of evidence supporting their accusations, had a great impact on all of us, especially when coupled with the revelation of the Transformers. The chairman and Sentinel called for the destruction of LOGOS and the Eradicons, and an end to all war in this world, if not in this galaxy. These were fine sentiments, and I certainly can't deny that I found them appealing, both as a politician dealing with the world's present state of confusion and as an individual, especially after having fought alongside some of the Autobots myself in the previous war. However, there is more to this situation than…"_

"What's going on," Yzak demanded when the screen suddenly began to cut out and interrupt Cagalli's speech. Unfortunately, they got the answer to Yzak's question when the image was replaced with one that was clearly from Gibraltar and had a girl with pink hair standing in the center of the image.

_"My friends, it is I, Lacus Clyne,"_ Meer announced, causing everyone to gasp in wide-eyed shock at her interruption, and the _Minerva_ crew to stare at the equally shocked and slightly appalled Lacus in surprise.

"I knew that there was something really off about her," Lunamaria stated as she turned to Lacus. "Just for the record, I've always preferred your real style over that fake's."

Lacus smiled at Lunamaria in thanks for her words as they all continued to watch and see what Meer would be telling the world. _"The other day, there was fierce battle that took place at Orb. I'm sure that everyone knows of it. Why would a nation that was once such a good friend to the PLANTs make the decision to shelter this Djibril person and these Eradicons within its borders? I'm still having a difficult time understanding this. Why would Orb be willing to go to war to protect these people, this leader of Blue Cosmos and these beings that have caused so much suffering, a man who doesn't hesitate to fire nuclear or energon weapons at the PLANTs and beings who terrorize other planets while inciting war among their people, who use massive weapons of destruction to burn down entire cities if not planets, who use mere children as tools in combat? Because Orb protected these beings, we failed once again, and we were unable to apprehend them, and this was also in part because of a group of Autobot rebels who cannot see that the foolish cause they claimed to stand for was all in following of a foolish librarian who wished to incite a new form of chaos among his homeworld."_

"Okay Kira, I think I've heard enough," Laucs finally said. Kira nodded in understanding to his girlfriend before she turned to make her way down off the deck she and the other humans in the base were standing on.

"Uh, Miss Lacus," Shinn asked, clearly confused about what the songstress was doing.

"Don't worry Shinn," Lacus told the young man. "Just like you and the others, I know what I have to do."

"Then allow me to accompany you," Optimus then said, gaining everyone's attention. "I believe that it is time that I too showed the world the truth about Sentinel and Durandal's intentions."

Lacus smiled and thanked Optimus for his aide, and then climbed into his cab after the Autobot leader had transformed into his new vehicle mode and then rolled out through the Ground Bridge as soon as Ratchet had opened it. "He's really liking the new vehicle mode," Sai commented.

"Told you so," Bumblebee reminded them in response. Everyone then continued to watch the broadcast for a minute as Meer continued to fool the world into thinking she was Lacus while leading the world to believe that Orb was an evil place by reinforcing how terrible LOGOS and the Eradicons are, until finally, the broadcast cut out again until it showed Lacus standing alongside Cagalli in front of Optimus's vehicle mode at the Orb Cabinet building at last.

_"Please do not be deceived by the appearance of that person,"_ Lacus immediately began when she appeared on the screen. _"Hello my friends. My name is Lacus Clyne. I know that there is someone out there working together with both Chairman Durandal and Sentinel, someone with the same face, the same voice, and the same name. However, I am the real daughter of Seigel Clyne, and I was the one who joined forces with the _Archangel_ and the Autobots and fought in the last war, just like I stand united with that ship and the true Autobots these days, along with the representative of Orb. She and I are two completely different people, and our beliefs are just as different as well. I want everyone to be aware of that. I agree with neither Chairman Durandal and Sentinel's words, nor their actions, and my feelings are shared by another that you should all know quite well. He is a hero to our world, the one who fought so hard against Megatron and the Decepticons in the last war, and who has once again realized that he truly is the last true Prime. My friends, I would like to present to you the true leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime."_

The minute Lacus had finished introducing Optimus, the Prime had transformed from his new vehicle mode to stand to tall and proud behind both of the young women in front of him for the entire world to see, right at the same moment as the broadcast from Gibraltar had cut off the confused and despairing Meer. _"Greetings citizens of Earth,"_ Optimus said. _"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Some of you may remember me from an encounter in the previous war, while others of you are seeing me for the first time, but whatever the case, I assure you the intentions that my Autobots and I hold are just as true now as they were then, for we still fight in the belief that freedom is the right of all sentient beings, a lesson that Sentinel had once taught me, but has now clearly forgotten. From the moment the _Xanthium_ had arrived on Earth, Sentinel has been leading others to believe that I and all Autobots who followed me were rebels against our own kind, while in truth; it was Sentinel who was leading others in a betrayal of the Autobots. Because of this and many other reasons that we have discovered, as Miss Lacus Clyne has said, like her, I do not agree with the chairman and Sentinel's words nor their actions. Those who fight are not to blame and neither are those who choose not to fight, but rather it is the ones who force us to fight who are to blame. LOGOS, the merchants of death, and the Eradicons, the evil that exceeds that of the Decepticons, but is what the chairman and Sentinel are saying the entire truth, or do they simply wish to conceal that they are aligning with the Decepticons, who once threatened your world in an even greater plot?"_

_"Naturals are not to blame, neither are the Coordinators, nor any of the Autobots who decide to stand with someone other than Sentinel,"_ Lacus then carried on. _"Just blame someone else. Blame the world itself and even the galaxy itself. They tell you you're not to blame, but please do not become trapped in Sentinel and the chairman's web of lies. Before we are misunderstood, rest assured we are not defending Mister Djibril or Lockdown and his forces. However, we simply do not trust Chairman Durandal and Sentinel Prime, a Cybertronain who has lost all right to bear the title of Prime. Friends please, we must look beneath the surface and discover what Sentinel and the chairman's real objectives are, assuming that the chairman still has a say in those objectives."_

Optimus then spoke up once again as he said, _"Recently, we have discovered that there is a likely chance that Sentinel has seized power from Chairman Durandal in a way that would lead the world to believe that Durandal is still in power, while in truth, Sentinel is the one now giving the orders. It is a method that he has designated the Pretender Program, a program in which Sentinel would use Cybertronian technology to create artificial replicas of a person or persons to replace the person that it was created from. Using this program, Sentinel would be able to fool anyone into thinking that the replica was the person it was replacing, but despite this, it is not. While you could not prove that it was a fake by merely looking at it, running a DNA test, or even so much as seeing if it could bleed, there are ways to discover the truth. People of the Earth, my kind and I have already witnessed the destruction of our own home, and during the time we have lived among you, hiding in plain sight, we have found that like us, there is more to your kind than meets the eye, and we have thus come to call your world our second home. Should you continue to follow Sentinel and Chairman Durandal blindly without discovering the truth for yourselves, you will eventually bring about your world's downfall, and that is a fate that I do not wish to befall this wonderful world that my Autobots and I have to come to care for so greatly."_

With that being said, anything more that was stated in the broadcast became irrelevant, as the pieces all started to fall into place for everyone. The chairman's strange behavior, Sentinel allying with the Decepticons so easily, and everything else that had happened since Junius Seven, but that still left one question for everyone to wonder about. "Do you think that they'll believe any of this," Shinn asked.

"The fact that Lacus appeared alongside Optimus should stand in our favor, along with the fact that we're able to present some serious evidence supporting their claims," Athrun replied. "However, others will find a way to make it seem like this was all a lie to others and that may lead to something even more terrible."

As much as they all wanted to argue with this statement, they all knew that Athrun was right in what he said, but they could stop themselves from hoping that it was not true.

* * *

Up on the moon, Djibril and Lockdown had just finished watching the broadcast the rest of Earth and the PLANTs had just seen, and while they were a bit happy to hear Lacus and Optimus speaking out against Durandal and Sentinel at first, they were still a bit infuriated by the fact they made it clear that they also did not support or defend them as well. Still it mattered little to them, as the Requiem was nearly ready to fire. "Are you serious about firing this weapon," the Alliance admiral in charge of the Lunar base asked Djibril.

"Of course I am," Djibril answered. When Lockdown gave a small cough, Djibril quickly amended the statement as he said, "I mean, _we_ are, after all that's why we went to all this trouble to get here."

"Now that's the kind of answer I like," the admiral smiled. "It's good to know our efforts are appreciated even way out here and our work won't have been in vain."

"What do you mean by that," Lockdown asked.

"There are too many soft politicians who spend fortunes building these things. They say they're necessary, but then they don't have the guts to use them when its time. When that happens, soldiers like me tend to wonder what are we out here for anyway."

"Don't worry," Djibril assured the man. "We're no cowards like the president is, nor are we dreamers like Durandal and Sentinel. In order to protect, I'll pull the trigger when I have to."

"Truer words have never been spoken, Djibril," Lockdown commented. "After all, one does not get anywhere in life by being a weak, fearful coward. Something that fool, Megatron, never did learn before his demise."

The three could then only grin in anticipation of what firing this weapon would mean, and what would happen when they finally began to play this particular requiem for Durandal and Sentinel.

* * *

Out in space, Nicol and Shiho had been dispatched along with the rest of the Joule Team that had remained in space, though some were joking around and saying that they should rename themselves to the Amalfi Team or the Hahnenfuss Team, to investigate a gathering of Alliance Forces near the remains of an abandoned colony just outside the defensive early warning area. Their ships had just arrived on site, and the two had launched in Shiho's Rosso Aegis and Nicol's new ZGMF-X207SR Nero Blitz Gundam when they suddenly encountered the escort fleet, and needless to say it was not a friendly welcome.

"What're these guys even doing out here," Shiho demanded as she dodged the barrage of beam blasts that were sent here way.

"Doesn't matter right now," Nicol immediately replied. "We've seen enough to know that it's not for anything friendly, and whatever it is, it clearly involves those colony remains, so let's take them out and try to put a stop to it."

"Roger that," Shiho replied as she charged her machine forward alongside the Nero Blitz. As soon as she was in range, Shiho switched the Rosso Aegis into shooting mode and opened fire with the Scylla beam cannons, tearing apart multiple units when she did. A minute later, a small group of Eradicon drones suddenly appeared and tried to take her out, but Nicol was quick to intervene and use the Nero Blitz's Variable Arm Units in their crystallized state to absorb all the blasts that were sent Shiho's way and then redirected the blasts back to the source.

"I can't believe I almost forgot how exhilarating it feels to be piloting a Gundam," Nicol commented to himself as he fired a shot from the Nero Blitz's Trikeros, and then a small barrage from the launcher on the machine's right arm. The Nero Blitz then swooped down and used the Variable Arm Units to grab hold of and crush some enemy mobile suits and drones in their powerful grasp just as the Rosso Aegis was slicing into the enemy with her suit's beam sabers.

Shiho was about to comment on Nicol's proclamation when she noticed that the colony had suddenly halted in its movements. "Why are they stopping it here," Shiho wondered aloud. "What're they going to do with this thing?"

"I don't know, but we're stopping it," Nicol replied as he smashed another mobile suit apart. "Go around to the engines."

"Roger." The two then led a team to that destination and began to open fire on the engines, hoping that whatever the enemy was planning would be averted by their efforts, and it seemed that they may be successful, when the enemy suddenly began pulling back, and their sensors picked up a high energy beam being fired from the far side of the moon. Both Gundam pilots had to wonder why they would be firing such a weapon from there when they saw the beam itself enter another set of colony ruins and then curve towards them.

"All forces, evade now! Get out of here, fast," Nicol immediately shouted as he and Shiho blasted away from the colony as fast as they could. "What is this thing?"

"Did the beam actually just bend," Shiho asked, but they were both interrupted from their musings when they saw the beam curve a few more times, hit its target, and tear through the PLANT colonies, Januarius One through Four. The resulting destruction then caused the remains of the colony to crash into Decembers Seven and Eight and then collapse.

"Januarius and December," Nicol gasped in quiet shock. "Who would've imagined…and from the far side of the moon…"

"Nicol," Shiho shouted. "We're destroying this damn thing. If they get off another shot like that, then the PLANTs are finished. We're destroying this thing no matter what the cost!"

"Right," Nicol and the other soldiers who heard her replied as they all began to move to attack the machine that held a great part of responsibility for the destruction of one of the colonies that made up their home along with the escort fleet that was still present. As the machine collapsed, they could all only wonder if it would be enough.

* * *

When news of what had happened in space had reached the group in Orb, everyone was appalled and horrified by what had happened, and they all knew that it would not be forgotten, like GENESIS and Megatron. It all made them stop and contemplate how no matter what they did, they always seemed to repeat the cycle of destruction and fighting. Eventually, it led Lacus to reveal all the details of Durandal's Destiny Plan, and how it would decide everyone's fate and roles in life from birth based on their genes, and that if someone did not agree with their role they were weeded out and adjusted, all according to the destinies that were set by Durandal.

When the Autobots heard of this, they were infuriated by the concept, as it reminded them all too much of the caste system that Cybertron had used before the war had broken out, the very thing that Optimus had stood against and wanted to change so that they could live in a free world, but even so, since the Destiny Plan was originally Durandal's and he had been replaced by a replica at some point by Sentinel, it led to one question that Smokescreen had ended up voicing for everyone. "Is it really still the same as his original plan," the young 'Bot had asked.

"Given how strongly Sentinel supported him before, I am unsure if that is the case," Optimus admitted to everyone that had gathered in the Autobot Base. "However, when considering the words that Sentinel and others who shared his way of thinking had expressed in battle, I believe that there is a likely chance that after replacing Durandal, Sentinel has in fact made some changes to the original Destiny Plan that would suit his and the Decepticons' needs."

"But just what kind of changes would those be," Bumblebee asked, even though he was not entirely sure he wanted the answer, a feeling that was shared by Kira, Shinn, Athrun, Cagalli, and everyone other important member of the crew from both the _Minerva_ and the _Archangel_.

"Given what we have now learned and seen, I suspect that Sentinel wishes to reinstate the caste system from Cybertron, and reform it in a way that includes humanity in some small way," Optimus revealed. "It would seem that in Sentinel's eyes, we should be as gods to both humanity and even the rest of the universe, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to restore that which he had lost after the war had begun. Or rather, after Megatron and I first appeared before the High Council with the ideas we had of restoring Cybertron to what it once was."

"If that is the case, then where would humanity be among such godlike beings, if that is Sentinel's intention," Neo asked.

"I doubt it would be hard to figure out," Talia admitted grimly. "Compared to the Autobots or any Transformer in general, save for the Mini-Cons, we're nothing more than small insects beneath their feet. With that in mind, what sort of use do you think that Sentinel would find for our species?"

No one wanted to answer that, because the answer was too horrible to even think about, but they all ended up either cringing or shivering in fear anyway as the thought did enter their minds. "It would all be pointless at this point," Athrun muttered.

"Like you've never done pointless things before," Dearka chuckled.

Athrun paused for a minute to think about those words, and all that had happened since that day in Armory One when he first met the chairman, Smokescreen, and the others from the _Xanthium_ and the _Minerva_, until he finally smirked and said, "You know, I'm not the type of person who gives up."

"I'm the same way," Kira admitted with a smile.

"Me too," Cagalli declared proudly.

"Me too, right," Neo asked Murrue and Wheeljack.

"You know it, wingman," Wheeljack told him with a thumbs up in reply. "We're all the same as well."

"Definitely," Shinn agreed, along with everyone else.

"Then it would seem that our path forward is clear," Optimus then said. "We must return to space, stop Sentinel, and show him and others who think as he does that freedom is still the right of all sentient beings, and that we create our own destinies."

"We're with you, Optimus," Kira declared. "Right Athrun?"

"Yes," Athrun immediately agreed as he and Kira clasped each other's hand in brotherhood.

"Then what're we waiting for," Cagalli asked.

"Cagalli, you can't go," Arcee immediately said. "You're needed here in…"

"Arcee, I swear to God, don't you dare even think of finishing that sentence," Cagalli immediately argued. "I've told you guys before that I can't just stand back and watch anymore. I'm going with you, whether you like it or not. Maybe this isn't what my father would have done, and maybe it is, but I do know that it's what I would do, and that's what really matters."

Arcee was about to protest along with Optimus when they both saw Bumblebee smiling at Cagalli proudly, knowing that she was simply acting on the words he had once spoken to her and which she had spoken to him not too long ago, and in the end they both had to relent and allow Cagalli to carry on with her decision, but there was still one matter to deal with if she truly was going with them. "What about Orb? Who will be acting as its leader with you gone," Yzak ended up asking.

"I get the feeling she's already taken care of that, haven't you Cagalli," Bumblebee suddenly said with a smirk.

Cagalli nodded in affirmative and then turned to the door to the office that was in the base as she told someone in there that they could come in now. A minute after the door opened, a young man and woman both stepped into the room and stood before the gathered group. The woman had orange-brown hair, fair skin, and green eyes, and wore a white shirt under a pink dress-like coat, black pants and brown shoes, while seeming to carry herself with an almost regal essence. The man with her had pale brown hair, brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin like Athrun, and wore a tan shirt, black pants and shoes, and a navy blue coat with black shoulder patches, and seemed to carry himself with a kind of confidence in what he did while also questioning his role. "It's been a long time Audrey," Cagalli said to the young woman as soon as she had approached her. "Or should I call you Mineva now?"

"Audrey is fine," the young woman replied with a small smile. "And it's good to see you too, Cagalli. I just wish it were under better circumstances."

"Um, care to explain who these people are to those of us who don't know, please," Lunamaria then asked.

Cagalli simply coughed to clear her throat for a minute before announcing, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my old friend, Audrey Burne, but she's better known as Mineva Lao Zabi."

"The long lost daughter of one of the Orb Navy's greatest colonels," Kira asked.

"And the niece of one of my father's strongest supporters and friends," Cagalli then revealed. "Our parents were good friends for a long time and were determined to ensure that Orb would always remain a great nation no matter what happened, and they would even talk about one day sharing Orb's ideals with the rest of the world so that there would be no more war among Earth and the PLANTs. At least, that was the plan until Audrey's uncle was found dead in his home due to mysterious circumstances, and the same was true for her father, who would have stepped in to take his brother's place. For a long time, my father had suspected that there was foul play at work and did everything he could to help Audrey and her mother go into hiding until they discovered the culprit and made sure it was safe for them to return. She and her mother actually stayed with us while my father was setting that up and that's how the two of us met and became friends."

"My mother was actually killed when someone discovered us a few years ago," Audrey then picked up. "And I thought for sure that I was going to join her and my father and uncle soon after, but luckily Banagher had been passing by the house we were staying in on his way home from school and heard the commotion inside. Ever since then, he has been keeping me safe, acting as my protector while still somehow managing to find time to finish his education online."

Before anyone could ask who Audrey was talking about, the young man who had come in with her stepped forward and said, "Uh…that would be me. I'm Banagher Links. Nice to meet you all."

Everyone nodded in return to his greeting and then Cagalli then revealed, "After the previous battle, we discovered that it was actually the Seirans who had orchestrated the deaths of Audrey's family with help from Blue Cosmos, and upon realizing this, I immediately phoned the number that Audrey was currently using and had secretly sent to me recently and let her know of the news. Thankfully, they were close by and they were able to return to Orb just a few hours after our announcement to the world."

Audrey then told everyone, "Don't worry about Orb. I'll be taking care of things in Cagalli's place, and I promise that I won't make a disaster of things like the traitor Yuna Roma Seiran did. I also intend to restore Cagalli's position to her immediately upon her return."

"Or you could end up taking up the job right alongside me," Cagalli teased with a knowing smile.

"Perhaps we should leave that discussion for another day," Audrey replied while Banagher did his best to hide a small smile and a bit of laughter from her.

"Well that's great that someone we can count on will be taking care of things in Orb while Cagalli's out there with us, but there's still one other matter to deal with," Hound then brought up. "In case you guys haven't noticed, we've got one more pilot than we do mobile suits, and I doubt that Neo here will want to settle for a basic, mass produced model."

"I've already got that covered as well," Erica then revealed as she walked over to the large door that led to the Akatsuki's underground hangar. She then pulled down on a lever and the doors opened up as a large object was suddenly transported into the room as she said, "This new model is actually a remade version of one of the original five Gundams, but with a few new features and a special system as well. The problem was, we could never quite get it to work until Banagher came with Miss Mineva and filled in the final pieces for us."

A minute later, the object had been full brought into the base, and everyone was instantly gazing on in wide-eyed shock at a Gundam class mobile suit that bore a striking similarity in resemblance to the old Strike Gundam. Upon closer inspection, they could all see that it seemed to have its phase shift armor active, much like the Akatsuki normally did, and while it did have the old blue and white colors of the original Strike, this new machine also had red highlights on the skirt, legs, and shoulders, and some blue highlights on the lower arms and knees. A pair of beam sabers where now stored in the machines skirt, and the machine also carried a white, red, and yellow shield with a raised center, a new beam rifle, and a large white backpack that seemed to carry a pair of beam cannons and even detach from the machine to form some type of fighter.

"Is that a new version of the Strike," Yzak eventually asked.

"Yes it is," Erica confirmed. "This is the GAT-X105B/ST Star Force Strike Gundam. Like the other Gundams, it's equipped with an Energon Reactor Core, and like the new Justice and Freedom, it also has an artificial T-Cog, but it also possesses a very special system as well. The suit is equipped with an absorption system that allows it to absorb the energy of any kind of energy attack, including a positron beam or an energon blast, and then use that power to either give itself a boost for its weapons, thrusters, or defensive capabilities, or simply restore any power it has already lost in battle. It does this through the special absorption duct in the center of its shield, so as long as it isn't destroyed or blocking a physical attack, like say from missiles or an anti-ship sword, it will be able to absorb the blast."

"And you've tested this feature," Talia asked.

"Well, we've tested it on your basic level energon blasts and beam weapons from both mobile suits and battle ships, but as for the battle ship grade positron cannon, that's the only thing we're unsure of," Erica admitted. "We did not fully complete the system until Banagher showed up, and we did not want to take any risks in doing so since the blast would completely destroy the suit if it failed, but we're ninety-five percent sure that it will work against such a weapon," Erica admitted.

"It'll work," Neo stated. "That is if you're sure there's no problem with me using this thing."

Murrue and everyone else that had known Mu La Flaga all nodded in reassurance of this, and with all that needed to be settled now dealt with, Optimus then declared, "Then we'd best begin all final preparations for our departure. Autobots, _Archangel_ Crew, _Minerva_ Crew, prepare to roll out!"

* * *

Sometime after they had returned to Gibraltar, and almost instantly after they had heard about what happened in space, Sentinel and his forces, as well as those few who had left the _Minerva_ after its defection, had all immediately returned to space both to pursue Djibril and the Eradicons, and so that they may assist in destroying the Requiem before it was used to destroy anymore of the PLANTs. Everyone knew that this was not going to be an easy task for the _Xanthium_ alone, and with Rey being the only Gundam pilot from the _Minerva_ who did not betray them, it seemed as though the chairman and Sentinel were now grasping at straws to end this long battle. That is until one saw the large, crimson ship that held such a strong resemblance to the _Minerva_.

"This new ship will certainly do nicely," Sentinel commented as he looked on at the vessel. "Are you confident that you can handle it properly, Captain Trine?"

"Yes sir," Arthur immediately saluted to both Sentinel and Durandal in reply. Shortly after returning to Gibraltar, Arthur had been promoted to the rank of captain for his services and loyalty. That, along with the fact that he knew the _Minerva_ so well made him the ideal person to captain this new ship of the same class. Now, one could argue that it seemed Sentinel was making the same mistake that Azrael and the Earth Forces had made with the _Dominion_ in the previous Bloody Valentine War, but Sentinel would have been quick to argue that this new ship was far superior to the second ship of the Archangel Class, or would have simply taken more brutal measures to silence that doubt.

"Then allow me to introduce your new ship's ace pilots," Durandal then stated robotically as he gestured to a young man and woman who were both wearing Z.A.F.T. red uniforms. The young man had slightly tanned skin that was expected of one who lived in the PLANTs, silver blonde hair, and dark colored eyes, and seemed to have a vicious aura of furry around him that practically screamed that he was a man who hated the way things were and was dealt a serious blow to his life at some point in the past that he could not let go of. As for the woman, she had similarly colored skin, black brunette hair, and silver colored eyes and seemed to hold a similar aura to the man next to her.

"Evan Stanson, pilot of the ZGMF-43SC Arch Destiny Gundam, reporting for duty sirs," the young man said in a deep, baritone voice.

"Sakura Regale, pilot of the ZGMF-X56S/Ω Fury Impulse Gundam, sirs," the woman then identified afterwards.

"At ease," Arthur then ordered. "From this point on, you'll be receiving orders from FAITH Operative Rey Za Burrel when in combat."

"What," Evan exclaimed. "We gotta take orders from the guy who lost to both traitors and a bunch of old fossils?!"

"Is that a problem," Rey asked in a demanding tone that just dared him to say yes.

Evan took a minute to compose himself before he finally said, begrudgingly, "No sir."

"Good," Rey stated. He then turned to Durandal and asked, "Chairman, about their machines…"

"Frankly, I was hoping that they would not be needed," Durandal stated in answer to Rey's unasked question. "They were developed in case the Destiny or the Impulse ever went rogue or were seized by the enemy. I had hoped that would not occur with Shinn Asuka and Lunamaria Hawke as the pilots, but it seems clear that I was mistaken. That is why your new ship's first mission after helping to deal with the Alliance weapon that had been fired on the PLANTs is to track down and eliminate the _Minerva_ and its two traitor pilots along with anyone aligned with them."

Arthur could just barely contain a small gasp in shock at this order but immediately shook it off and said, "Yes sir, understood." With that said, Arthur moved to begin looking over his new ship to see if there were any differences between this new Minerva Class ship and the first one when he suddenly paused and asked, "Sir, what is this ship's name? I'm sorry, but I just realized that I had neglected to ask until now."

Durandal stared out at the crimson colored version of the _Minerva_ and then finally looked back at its new captain and replied, "It is known as the second ship of the Minerva Class, the _Mars_."

Arthur then nodded and continued on to his ship with both Rey and the two pilots in tow, never noticing how Durandal seemed to glance at Sentinel for a moment as though he were awaiting orders as they did. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Sentinel muttered to himself, "There is no doubt that Orion will be coming to space with his allies soon enough, but then again, that's why the _Reliant_ and it's mobile suits are being deployed now. Still, there's also other matters that must be dealt with. Djibril and the Eradicons are one of course, but there's also the matter of the young lady, Meer Campbell, or should I say Lacus Clyne. She may very well be another loose end that we can't afford to have. Ensure that its dealt with as soon as we have received word that the Alliance weapon is taken care of."

With his orders now received, the Durandal replica simply nodded and then moved on to the office that Durandal would have occupied on the Z.A.F.T. Fortress Messiah should he have lived to this point, and if one were in the room at that moment and not aligned with Sentinel, they would have felt an ominous aura that reeked of danger that was still yet to come.

* * *

**_AN: So there you have it. Remember the authors note a few chapters back when I said that Audrey and Banagher were going to be in this continuity? Well, here they are. You didn't really think I was going to have Cagalli stick with the team and go into space while leaving behind some random government leader that she likely couldn't trust in charge did you? Also, yes the Star Force Strike is the Star Build Strike. I just changed the name because I thought that calling it the Star Build Strike would be more appropriate if this story took place in Gundam Build Fighters._**

**_Finally, the _Reliant_ matter. Well I wasn't going to just kick Rey and Arthur off the _Minerva_ and not have them appear again until the final battle, plus I wanted the fight to be a bit more evened out._**

**_Shinn: No kidding, because otherwise it would be a bunch of faceless ships and one Gundam against a new Four Ships Alliance and six Gundams. Talk about your mismatched fight. Still what's the deal with the two mobile suits and their pilots?_**

**_AN: Ah yes, well remember a few chapters back when I responded to a question involving the Arch Destiny, well after having you and the others switch sides, I figured it would be a good idea to add someone new that could, theoretically, counter your machine, and thus, Arch Destiny found its way in. As for the Fury Impulse Gundam, that's an original mobile suit I came up with. Think of it as like the Titans Gundam MK II from Zeta Gundam, and as for its characteristics and Silhouette packs, well we'll go more into them in the next chapter._**

**_Murrue: And the reason for the _Reliant_?_**

**_AN: Well, I did need a new ship for Z.A.F.T. to depend on now that the _Minerva_ has joined the right side, and I know that I'm just repeating what was done with the _Dominion_ in a way, but this really seemed like the best option in a sense._**

**_Bulkhead: What about those two pilots? They don't really seem all that friendly._**

**_AN: Good, they're not supposed to. They're both my own OCs that I came up with for this story. I like to think that Evan is like a reflection of this story's Shinn, or rather, the version of Shinn that we all know from the original continuity had he gotten the right character development, or at least my view of it. Same goes for Sakura if you were to compare her to Lunamaria, or had given Luna a backstory similar to Shinn's. More on them another time though. Before ask when though, I shall simply say that I can only answer that by saying, Onto the preview!..._**

**_The _****Reliant_ and her pilots are off on their first mission, but just who are the two pilots that have taken the places of Shinn and Lunamaria on this new Minerva Class ship? Brief glimpses will be given into the history of Evan Stanson and Sakura Regale as the mission proceeds, and the true devastating might of their machines will reveal them to be a dark contrast to the original Destiny and Impulse Gundams. Meanwhile, Optimus, Kira, Shinn, Bulkhead, and the others arrive on the moon and find themselves caught in the midst of an encounter that will decide the final fate of one sad and confused person. Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_Chapter 22: Within the Shadows_. Arch Destiny, Fury Impulse, show the might of your rage and vengeance!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	22. Within the Shadows

_**AN: Hello faithful readers! I am LyokoMARVELanime, in case it wasn't already obvious by now, and I am proud to present the next chapter of Destiny Sentinels. This time around you will be seeing the basic back story behind the series' two newest OCs, along with a few changes in continuity, but before that, I'd just like to address some reviews.**_

_**Shinn: You mean like that one review that was so against Neo getting the Star Build Strike?**_

_**AN: Yes, that one. Let me tell you all you Star Build Strike hating guys something, I know more about the Star Build Strike than I do the Strike Noir, but what I do know about the latter of the two tells me enough to know that it would not be able to do what I need it to do in order for a certain moment in the story to take place. For those of you who know you're Cosmic Era history, you know what I'm talking about, and for those of you who don't, the only hint you get is that it involves a history repeats moment.**_

_**Rey: You know, you could just tell them that you also plan to make this story's version of that machine like a number of the others since it will...**_

_**AN: DAH! SPOILER! Shinn, hand me that magic lamp!**_

_**Shinn: You mean this one? [Hands said lamp over]**_

_**AN: Yep that's the one [rubs the lamp]**_

_**Genie: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting, the all-powerful, un-containable, but never duplicated, Genie of the Lamp from Disney's Aladdin! So what'll it be Master?**_

_**AN: Genie, I need you to...[whispers the rest in his ear]**_

_**Genie: Kid that is evil, but its the kind of evil I like! Alakazam! [Blasts Rey with a burst of magic]**_

_**[Shinn and the others burst out laughing]**_

_**Rey: What? What happened?  
**_

_**Shinn: Dude, he turned you into a girl!**_

_**Rey: What?! Change me back now!**_

_**Genie: Sorry kid, no can do. You ain't the one with the lamp, so I don't answer to you. It's in the Genie contract.**_

_**AN: Oh don't worry, girlie, it'll wear off eventually. Now moving on, a review from "Many Faced Mage" pointed out something to me about the new Minerva-class ship's name, and I honestly have to agree with him. I had originally named it as it was because I couldn't think of anything at the time, but I will be going back to fix it later, if I haven't already, and it will be referred to by it's new, correct name here, so don't freak out and get confused when you read about it.**_

_**Finally, I would just like to clear up a little confusion on what my next Transformers/Gundam Crossover series will be. If anyone got the idea that I would be doing a crossover between Transformers and the Universal Century timeline in Gundam because I had added Audrey and Banagher to the story last chapter, my apologies, I did not mean to lead you on like that. I have been thinking about an idea for such a story series, but at the moment, it is not a series that is predominant in my mind in terms of Gundam/Transformers crossovers. Now with that said, and while the girls are taking Miss Rey on a shopping spree, let's roll out!**_

_**I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 22: Within the Shadows**

It was only mere hours ago that the _Mars_ had departed for the destination of its first assignment alongside the _Xanthium_, and Sentinel was now looking over the statistics of both the mission and the aftermath that would follow, knowing that no matter how this ended, there was a strong chance that LOGOS and the Eradicons would finally have ended at last. During his musings though, he was interrupted by the sound of a private communication line going off, which led him to let out an exasperated sigh at the knowledge of who was on the other end of this line. After shutting off the screen he was viewing the reports on, Sentinel turned to the device and tapped the activation controls to be greeted by the holographic image of Starscream's slightly smug, yet still irritated face. "Is there something you needed, Commander Starscream," Sentinel asked, doing his best to keep his tone polite when addressing the Decepticons' acting leader.

_"First off, it's _Lord_ Starscream, and second, spare me the pleasantries, Prime,"_ Starscream snapped. _"You know why I'm calling you. Why did you not inform me of your sudden decision to enlist the Combaticons on the mission that your ship and the human one were undertaking? You know full well that I command the Decepticons, and any decisions involving their deployment are to be brought to me before any attempts to carry them out are taken."_

"I was not under the impression that I needed _your_ permission to do any such thing," Sentinel immediately retorted in a barely restrained snarl. "Need I remind you that while you may command your forces as a group when you act alone, I am the Prime here, and I command all of our combined forces?"

_"You may be able to fool others with that line, but I know the true reason why you did not take the Matrix from Optimus Prime, and tried to use the Star Saber as nothing more than a trophy,"_Starscream argued.

"Do not speak that name in my presence," Sentinel shouted. "Orion Pax is not a Prime, and he never was!"

_"Oh Sentinel, how your lies have deceived even you yourself while feeding your denial,"_ Starscream mocked. _"Keep in mind that were it not for me, your ship and its crew would still be aimlessly roaming the galaxy, and as such, you owe your life to me, and I expect you to defer to my command when it comes to the Decepticons."_

"I defer to no one," Sentinel growled. "Not a human, not Alpha Trion, and especially not a cowardly Seeker who simply followed a barbaric gladiator who caused our world to fall only so that Seeker could preserve his own spark."

Starscream sneered at this at first, but he quickly brushed it off and said, _"Well if that is your opinion, then I suppose you do not require any further aid of _my _forces. After all, it is not as though you are unable to carry out one of the most important goals in your plan without us."_

Sentinel glared at the Decepticon's hologram for a minute, knowing that Starscream was right in what he said, until he finally relented and said, "Perhaps I should consider being more aware of your…protocols in the near future. That being said, I require your forces' assistance with a small matter concerning Durandal's puppet singer."

Starscream gave a small smirk in triumph and then told Sentinel, _"Send the information to Soundwave at your earliest convenience, and I shall see to it that the proper troops are deployed."_

With that, Starscream's hologram vanished as the communication line closed, leaving Sentinel to let out a low growl before smashing some of the unimportant items in his room out of his frustration for having to depend on the Decepticon scum that had caused his home so much terrible pain.

* * *

Despite the results of his chat with Sentinel, Starscream was still very angered by recent events. It was clear that the Prime of the _Xanthium_ was merely using the Decepticons as tools to further his plans, which coincided with his own in a small way, but the fact that he was now thinking that he could just go around Starscream to command the forces that were supposed to be under _his_command was clearly causing the Seeker's frustration with having to rely on the out-of-date Autobot to reach a breaking point. He was able to shake that off for a moment to accept the data that Soundwave had received from Sentinel regarding the errand that the Prime had spoken of, but Starscream was not as great a fool as others believed him to be. He was fully aware that Sentinel was only allowing this as a way to pacify him for the moment, and that was the thing that was really getting to Starscream, the fact that Sentinel seemed to think he was some sort of frustrated pet that could be instantly cheered up after being given a small treat.

As he continued to storm through the halls of the _Nemesis_, Starscream was brought out of his mental rant by the voice of his apprentice. "Master Starscream," Quicksilver called out to get the Seeker's attention. "I mean no disrespect when I ask this, but why in the name of Primus are we continuing to ally ourselves with that _Prime_?"

Starscream did not miss the snarl that Quicksilver had let out when he said the word "Prime", and he was fully aware of the reasoning behind that since Quicksilver honestly believed the war would never had happened if it were not for the caste system that Zeta and Sentinel had forced everyone to maintain, but he was quick to calm himself as he turned to the young triple-changer and replied, "I will not pretend that I enjoy working with Autobots any more than you enjoy having to work alongside the leader of these particular Autobots, but for the moment, they have something we still need, and we cannot afford to let it slip through our grasp."

"But Master, there has been talk amongst the troops," Quicksilver revealed. "They are saying that they prefer his abilities to command over your own, almost as though they intend to betray us. Knockout and I are probably some of the only few who are still willing to stand by you, but it is clear that Sentinel Prime has now pulled command of the Decepticons away from us and they only defer to you out of some small sign of respect for the fact that you were the first to step up and take command after Lord Megatron fell! What is the point of being the leader of our forces if we can't stop such a dishonorable being such as Sentinel from seizing command of them right out from under us, and how do we know we can even trust him after all he has done to those who were supposedly his friends?"

"That is enough, my apprentice," Starscream snapped. He then regained his composure, having not meant to have lost his temper with the young 'Con, before he explained, "I am well aware that the Decepticons are slipping from my grasp, but the only way to remedy that is for Sentinel to be removed from the equation, and I'm sure you know that is not so easily accomplished." Quicksilver's silence confirmed Starscream's statement. "Though, if one were to help a loose end in Sentinel's grand scheme to become completely undone, and perhaps even failed to stop a small accident from befalling him, then it would be rather beneficial for us. Wouldn't you agree?"

Quicksilver looked at Starscream in confusion for a minute, and when he saw his master's devious smirk, he immediately understood what Starscream was implying and bowed to the Seeker and said, "Indeed I would, Master Starscream."

Starscream nodded upon seeing that his apprentice caught on to his meaning, and then said, "Now that we have cleared that up, I have a small task for you involving such a loose end."

Quicksilver immediately smirked upon hearing this and asked, "How may I serve you?"

* * *

As the _Mars_ continued to fly towards its target, Rey had taken a moment to look over the data on the two new pilots that had been assigned to the ship along with the data on their machines. Admittedly, he was a bit surprised that Shinn had not been assigned the Arch Destiny instead of the machine he received, due to the fact that from the specifications he had seen the Arch Destiny appeared to be capable of not only defeating the Destiny, but completely annihilating it as well, that is assuming it had the right pilot, and that was what really concerned him.

Evan Stanson, in Rey's opinion, was almost like a reflection of Shinn in a broken mirror. The young man was a refugee from Orb like Shinn was, but unlike Shinn, Evan had lost his entire family during the attack the Earth Forces had launched on the neutral nation during the previous war, and he seemed to blame Optimus Prime's team and the Athha family for it. There were numerous reports in his records that showed him to be rather easily angered, and that he had received a number of reprimands in the Z.A.F.T. Academy, but despite this, the young man did show astonishing skill in a mass produced mobile suit alone. Of course, Rey still found it shocking that Evan had graduated as a Z.A.F.T. Red when there was a note in Evan's record that stated he was arrested for starting a bar fight that had lead to a few people ending up dead simply because one of those men had said a few positive words about the Athhas and Optimus Prime's team. In all honesty, it almost seemed as if Evan was a small idea of what would have happened if Shinn had lost his own family in the last war, only much more brutal in comparison, since Evan Stanson clearly showed no signs of having the same kind heart that Shinn had.

Then there was also the machine that was to act as a countermeasure against Lunamaria's machine, the Fury Impulse. Like the original version, the Fury Impulse was a combining, multi-purpose Gundam that could change equipment based on the situation it faced, but aside from the fact that its colors were black and red by default where the Impulse's were blue and white respectively, it seemed that only one of the various Silhouette packs were ever used by the machine, and the reason for that was actually because of its pilot. Like Evan, Sakura Regale was a refugee from Orb that arrived at the PLANTs during the last war, and in all honesty, her personality left much to be desired. It was not that she was horrible to be around because she treated everyone like scum and threw them angry glares every few minutes as if to send a silent warning like Evan often did, but it was more that she was arrogant, cocky, and overconfident after having mastered the capabilities of the Rage Silhouette, which was the Fury Impulse's equivalent to the Impulse's Force Silhouette, and felt that it was enough. If one thought that Starscream was vain and cocky, then they clearly did not meet Sakura yet, because they would not really know the meaning of the words until they did. The young woman was the opposite of Lunamaria in every way one could imagine personality wise, to the point that even her comments sounded more like insults than actual comments.

Although, given what he had seen of the specifications on the capabilities that the Rage Silhouette provided, Rey had to, reluctantly, admit that he could not blame her for thinking that there was no need to bother with the other two Silhouettes. At first glance, the Rage Silhouette seemed to provide the Fury Impulse with nothing more than a booster that would allow it to gain atmospheric flight and faster flight while in space, due to the fact that the Fury Impulse itself already carried the default beam rifle that the original Impulse had along with an energy shield in place of the regular one and a pair of beam sabers that were stored on its waist, but after looking further into it, Rey could see that was not the case. For starters, the Rage Silhouette also provided the Fury Impulse with a pair of beam pistols should it ever need them for whatever reason, including losing its rifle, and in addition to this, it also granted the machine a DRAGOON system that was much more watered down than his since it was formatted in a way that it would allow even a rookie pilot to be able to use the system.

While this did cause there to be fewer DRAGOONs on the Fury Impulse than the number on Rey's own machine, it compensated for that by granting the machine a special ability for its DRAGOONs. This ability was that the machine could use the bit type weapons to form an energy barrier around the suit, which could only be penetrated by a physical weapon. Given how many mobile suits normally only used beam weapons, that seemed to provide a distinct advantage to Sakura, as the beams on a GOUF's sword activated automatically, and it would take time to deactivate them before one could directly engage her. Of course this was easily countered by the fact that a Transformer's default swords were just normal blades by default, so naturally Rey noted that they would have to make sure that Sakura avoided fighting an enemy Transformer, assuming she would actually stop thinking she was superior to everyone around her and listen.

After looking through both pilots' records again, and making a note of how many times they had been on the receiving end of disciplinary action, Rey could not help but wonder again how the two had so much as graduated with honors like he, Shinn, and Lunamaria had, let alone been assigned to Gundams on the _Mars_. It honestly made no sense to Rey as Gilbert always made sure to think carefully and choose people that they both agreed were best for a given role, but for once, Gilbert had not done that, and instead just decided that a pair of pilots like these two were to be his new teammates. Granted they were both quite vicious in battle, but the way they seemed to normally fight either screamed how confident they were to the enemy or it just seemed like watching a pair of vicious beasts. Rey had wanted to protest against having them with the _Mars_, but right now was not the time, as they needed everyone they could get in such powerful machines.

Right now, he was standing in the pilots' ready room before the two new pilots, trying to go over the plan once more before the operation got underway. "Trying" be the key word here as both Evan and Sakura were barely paying attention to anything he was saying and were clearly making no attempts to show how little they thought of him. "Look man, I get your some big FAITH operative and all, but why go over what we already know," Sakura asked, haughtily. "Better yet, why bother with this plan at all when I could easily get it done on my own no problem."

"The reason we're 'bothering' with this plan is because one can't do it alone, as the captain has already explained to you," Rey told Sakura shortly. "And keep in mind that while your role is one of the most important, you won't be able to do anything without the rest of us doing our part."

"Well naturally you'd think that, but then again, you can't destroy that weapon without me, right," Sakura remarked with an arrogant smile.

Rey just narrowed his eyes at the brunette and then said, "Just try not to blow it, otherwise the PLANTs and the Lunar Fleet will be the ones who pay."

"You seriously think we don't know that," Evan retorted. "We're not idiots, you know. Unlike you, we've never failed an assignment or in destroying an enemy."

"Perhaps you would care to explain your meaning behind that," Rey immediately replied, with a slight amount of demanding seeping into his tone.

"What do you think," Evan retorted. "I know full well that you and those traitors from the _Minerva_ were told that you would need to fight to destroy Orion Pax's rebel faction and that you were the chairman's major guy for eliminating traitors like Athrun Zala, yet instead you let yourself get shot down because you were focusing on enemy mobile suits, and you allowed Asuka to shoot down Zala instead of finishing him yourself when you had the chance. It's obvious that Asuka was going to betray us since he was such a big fan boy of those first Autobots and the Athhas."

"Now that's enough," Rey half-shouted. "No one expected Shinn, Lunamaria, or anyone of the _Minerva_ to betray us, including Sentinel Prime and the chairman, but for whatever reason, it did happen, and we can't change that anymore than we can change the fact that we could not stop the Eradicons and Djibril from escaping into space."

"Which only happened cause Orb decided to shelter him and then proved to be too incompetent to stop him when they finally seemed to wise up," Sakura pointed out.

Rey then threw another glare at Sakura which he then threw at Evan as well before he turned to head for his machine just as the alert to go to Condition: Red had sounded. "Just make sure you do your parts, and try to keep in mind that the Combaticons will be acting as support for us along with the _Xanthium_, meaning that you are not to 'accidentally' fire on them like I've heard you have done in simulations," Rey then warned them, looking mostly towards Evan when he mentioned that last part.

Evan just threw his usual warning glare at Rey before he huffed and turned away from the blonde pilot before he and Sakura both grabbed their helmets and headed for their own machines. "So, you actually going to try and use that artillery Silhouette today," Evan asked.

"Is that a joke," Sakura laughed. "Why bother when I'm already able to use the best one of those things so well."

Evan just smirked as he said, "Had to be sure. I'd hate for you to end up getting wasted just cause you decided to use an unfamiliar ability of your machine."

The girl merely threw a glare at Evan for his insult before she headed for her machine, which was sitting on the same type of launch platform as the Impulse normally would be, and climbed in so that she would be ready for action. The moment the platform was raised to launch levels Sakura ran one final check of the systems before shouting out, "Sakura Regale, Core Destroyer. I'm blasting out of here!"

A moment later, a fighter like the Core Splendor burst down the runway and into the lunar skies. It's design was not that much different from the Core Splendor aside from having an additional set of wings on the back of the fighter, but the main difference that one would spot was that it had a color scheme of black and red in place of the white and blue. Immediately after launching, the Core Destroyer folded up its back wings before folding up the rest of the way and docked with a Leg Flyer and a Chest Flyer that were similar in design to the original Impulse, expect for the fact that a pair of beam sabers were holstered on either side of its waist and it seemed to have slightly bulkier legs, arms, and chest, and the helmet had six points instead of four. After this transformation was completed, the Rage Silhouette had docked on the back of the Gundam, giving it a large silver backpack with emerald details that highlighted the DRAGOONs, and a pair of grey beam pistols on the lower part of the pack, and the machine then engaged its Phase Shift armor to reveal its black and red color scheme just as it was blasting off.

"Evan Stanson, Arch Destiny Gundam. Launching now," Evan then called out, and immediately after he had launched, the Destiny variant had blasted out with its Phase Shift armor activating to reveal its black, red, and white color scheme with gold highlights as it did, wings wide.

"Rey Za Burrel in Legend, launching," Rey then announced, and soon enough his own Gundam was flying through the sky alongside the Arch Destiny just as the _Xanthium_ had sent out the Combaticons and the Protectobots to join the two of them, while Chromia and Scattershot joined up with the Fury Impulse. Just looking at these gathered forces allowed Rey to know for certain that this battle would soon see the end of both LOGOS and the Eradicons once and for all.

* * *

From where they were sitting in the Daedalus Base control room, Djibril and Lockdown were both enjoying the show of the Nero Blitz and Rosso Aegis Gundams leading the Z.A.F.T. Forces and some Vehicons in an attempt to destroy the first relay point. They were honestly not worried at all, given that the Requiem was nearing the point where it was now fifty percent fully charged, and when it was fully charged and they fired, those same Z.A.F.T.-Transformers Forces would be destroyed by the beam as it passed through the relay. They were brought out of there moments of premature gloating when one of the Earth Forces soldiers suddenly picked up an alert on his terminal.

"Detecting a pair of incoming vessels at ten o' clock sir," the soldier reported. "Distance fifty. It's Z.A.F.T. and the Transformers. The _Xanthium_ and what appears to be a ship of the same class as the _Minerva_."

"What," Djibril exclaimed. "There's another ship of the same class as the _Minerva_, and it's here with the _Xanthium_?!"

"Not surprising, but also not all that worrying," Lockdown remarked with a small wave of his good hand.

"What," the colonel in charge of the base exclaimed. "Weren't you listening? There's a Minerva class ship out there with the _Xanthium_ heading right for us!"

"Normally I would not be inclined to do so, sir, but on this occasion I must agree with the human," Thrust suddenly spoke up. "This does present a problem if those two ships are heading this way and…"

"Silence," Lockdown snapped. "Did I say that I was worried, Squid Head?! It may be the same class as the _Minerva_, but it is not the same ship. Without the _Minerva_ itself and its full crew, and with most of his own forces now with Optimus Prime, Sentinel Prime and the _Xanthium_ are nothing more than mere flies."

"Yes, of course sir," Thrust immediately agreed as he turned back to his readout.

"So perhaps we should deal with that," Lockdown then commented. "Thrust, our forces shall meet the _Xanthium_ and this new Minerva class ship in combat immediately."

"Sir," Thrust exclaimed. "I do hate to argue, but we have exhausted nearly all of our forces, including our primary leaders by fighting in this war. All that remains of our forces now are the few drones that we have defending the relay colony, while the ones at the base consist of only you, Sideways, Astrotrain, the Stunticons, and myself! Surely you are not suggesting we actually take such a risk and…"

"I am not suggesting anything, Squid Head," Lockdown snarled. "You will carry out my orders, or face my wrath, is that clear?"

"Y-yes sir," Thrust stuttered as the Alliance colonel gave the order for their forces to scramble as well, and soon enough nearly all of the remaining Stunticons, save for Astrotrain and Lockdown, were blasting into battle once again.

What none of them knew was that a short ways outside the base, four figures were hiding in the shadows, waiting for the opportunity to strike at what would prove to be a great nuisance to them in the near future should they be allowed to live past this day. As the largest of these figures stepped forward a single step, his eyes seemed to glow a dark reddish purple that just danced with anticipation at what was to come.

* * *

The minute that Thrust and the other Eradicons had blasted out of the base with the Alliance mobile suits and mobile armors right behind them, Rey and Evan were quick to engage them with the Combaticons and the Protectobots right alongside them, and this allowed Rey the opportunity to see just what Evan could do with the Arch Destiny. What he saw honestly made him think that the machine was just more suited for a pilot like Shinn, as he witnessed Evan tear through the enemy mobile suits and mobile armors with multiple shots from the Arch Destiny's Ragnarok Cannon and Ascalon beam sword, and while some of his shots and swings were successful, the attacks themselves were wild and uncoordinated, like he was just shooting and swinging at random, almost as though a wild animal was attacking the enemy. This was quickly made up for when Evan finally seemed to focus more on actually trying to aim than just firing in the area of the enemy units, and the fact that Blastoff and Vortex were quick to provide Evan with some aerial support did not hurt either, but it was not enough to change Rey's opinion of him anytime soon.

At one point, Evan had holstered his machine's cannon and switched to fighting with the beam sabers that were holstered in its shoulders like the original Destiny's beam boomerangs, and soon enough he was tearing through any enemy that crossed him with ease as he changed one saber into a beam boomerang and tossed it through the center of multiple mobile suits. For some reason that he could not understand, as Rey continued to watch the Arch Destiny tear through so many enemies like they were nothing more than tissue paper and subsequently killing the pilots inside them, the blonde could not help but feel a bit sick at the sight, but Rey quickly shook himself out of it when he spotted a small squad of Destroys rising up and racing towards them.

"Evan, heads up," Rey shouted as the Legend sliced apart an enemy mobile armor.

"Shut it! I don't need you to tell me," Evan immediately shouted back. "I can see those things well enough! Clearly they just don't know when to learn."

The minute he said that, the Arch Destiny had holstered its remaining beam saber into its shoulder once again and then charged in as it raised both hands up, palms open, and fired the beam cannons in them. At first glance, they did not seem to do much damage, but after a minute, one could tell that they were doing more than putting a rather large dent in the Destroys that it was firing at. A minute later, Evan had whipped out the Ascalon sword again, this time connecting the second handle that it carried on the other side of its waist to the hilt so that it would be a two handed sword, and when he ignited the blade, it seemed to be even bigger than before as he slashed through the Destroys like a knife through butter.

"Kid's got the makings of a Combaticon," Brawl commented as he blasted through some mobile armors and suits that were on the moon's surface.

"Maybe if he weren't such an animalistic brute he would, but as he is," Swindle argued.

"Brawl, Swindle, shut it," Onslaught suddenly cut in. "Save the chatter for after the mission. We need to eliminate this base now."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with Onslaught," Evac admitted. "Protectobots, combine into Defensor!"

Instantly, the five Protectobots all merged together into their combined form, and they were about to charge in and fire on the enemy mobile suits when Motormaster suddenly raced up and fired everything he had on them before shouting, "Stunticons, merge into Menasor!"

When he looked and saw that Defensor was about to battle Menasor, Onslaught did not hesitate when he called out the command for his team to combine as well, and soon enough, both Defensor and Bruticus were in a full on brawl with Menasor, and needless to say, Menasor was not showing any signs of winning against the other two, even though his two opponents were fighting him and destroying the base as they went. It was no surprise to anyone who saw this when Menasor finally received a combined, final attack from both Bruticus and Defensor that not only caused him to collapse into the five separate Stunticons, but also extinguished each of their sparks simultaneously as well, because while it was not the first time Menasor had faced two opponents, it was the first time since coming to Earth, if not ever, that both of those opponents were actually fighting against him together.

No one had long to reflect on it as the Legend and the Arch Destiny had to focus on the Destroys that were still functioning and coming after them, but things were made slightly easier when the_Mars_ flew in and fired a shot from its positron cannon at the enemy. Despite the fact that the first shot was blocked by a mobile armor that used a positron field, the effect it had was what they had desired, as the enemy had become completely disoriented, allowing the Arc Destiny and the Legend to eliminate the remaining Destroys, and then enter the base so that they could destroy the ships that were there, along with the central control station.

* * *

As she raced across the lunar surface along with her two escorts, Sakura was firing her beam rifle at anything that flew into her path for even a second, and it did not escape anyone's notice how nearly all of her shots were fired right through the enemy cockpits. Of course, neither Scattershot or Chromia were complaining about that seeing as it was her doing that human soldiers were dying and not theirs, but despite this, there was not really all that much for the two Autobots to do, until Sideways and Thrust suddenly burst out in front of them, leading them to quickly engage the two. If Sakura had noticed this, she clearly did not care as she just simply continued to fly onward, thinking that the two Transformers should be able to handle themselves.

Eventually, Scattershot had landed a fatal hit on Thrust that sent the flyer falling from the sky and crashing into the ground on the moon, where he was soon run over by Scattershot's vehicle mode and killed. Chromia on the other hand was taking her time in dealing with Sideways, as she was still trying to vent some of the anger that had built up from her last battle with Arcee, and Sideways just happened to be the unfortunate soul that anger ended up being directed at. Eventually, the Eradicon two-wheeler attempted to get Chromia off of him for a minute by firing a barrage at the Fury Impulse, but Sakura just scoffed in response before using the DRAGOONs to fly around her machine and raise an energy barrier before the blasts could so much as scratch her machine.

Seeing that his blasts were so effortlessly deflected had shocked Sideways so much that he did not see Chromia's blade heading for him until it was too late, and he ended up being slashed across the chest and having his arm cut off because of this. Chromia then let Sideways wallow in pain for a moment to glance in the Fury Impulse's direction, and when she saw that it was not entering the passage like it should have been when it reached it, Chromia immediately shouted out, "What are you doing?! Stop playing with the drones and get in there you little princess."

"Shut it, alien," Sakura growled. "I know what I'm doing, so why don't you just go back to playing hero and finish that other one off already?"

"That was not a suggestion you impudent, little brat," Chromia shouted as she raised her blasters in warning. "Either you get on with your mission or I will test just how durable your human mobile suits truly are."

Sakura snarled at Chromia for that before she finally turned her Gundam towards the entrance to the base and flew inside at maximum speed, electing to do as she was told not because of Chromia's threat, but because her fun had now been effectively ruined by the femme. Soon enough, Sakura found herself right at the heart of the Requiem cannon's core and the control room that was nearby, and she immediately brought up her beam rifle and one of her beam pistols while commanding the DRAGOONs to move into a firing position, and she then unleashed a massive barrage that caused the command center to vanish in a flash of explosions and the weapon to shut down just as it was preparing to fire.

* * *

When he saw that the Minerva class ship and the Transformers were breaking through while Z.A.F.T.'s Lunar Fleet had effectively rendered the first relay point unable to move, Djibril had elected to attempt an escape once again, truly believing that so long as he was alive then there was still hope for the Alliance to win the war. Naturally, it took little for Lockdown to agree, but when he saw the signals of his forces all cease to transmit, Lockdown felt that it was time to cut his losses and leave the human world after deciding that it was not worth the trouble he had ended up dealing with since arriving on the blue planet. That was why Lockdown was now aboard Astrotrain and preparing to leave the solar system while Djibril was boarding the _Girty_ _Lue_ so that he could leave. Lockdown barely batted an eye when he saw the Legend Gundam destroy the vessel and Djibril along with it, but he did do so when Astrotrain suddenly shook under the force of an explosion.

After being rocked by another few explosions, Astrotrain ended up crashing down on the moon's surface and ejecting Lockdown from within him as he transformed, barely able to keep himself upright for very long. When Lockdown began to rise up from the ground, his optics were met with the sight of a Cybertronian tank's treads suddenly give way to two large, metal feet that had a dark purple and black color scheme, and upon glancing up, he was quickly greeted with the sight of the unit from _Project: Nemesis_ that had come to life and spoken in Megatron's voice, and when this same being spoke again to him directly, his fears from when he first found out were quickly confirmed. "You never seem to learn, Lockdown," the figure had growled, mockingly.

"No," Lockdown gasped. "You…y-you're really…but that's…it couldn't be…you'd have to have no soul!"

"In a way, I no longer do," the figure chuckled. "That is why I have no fear. Something you shall never truly grasp."

Lockdown then looked behind the figure and saw, to his shock, Demolisher, Cyclonus, and Bonecrusher, all in their new armor, and he immediately called out, "What are you three doing? Eliminate him!"

Cyclonus only chuckled in response, "Sorry Lockdown, but no can do."

"Yeah, we don't take orders from you anymore," Demolisher added in pride as he threw Lockdown a mocking finger.

"Leaving your own for dead tends to cause people to change their allegiances," Bonecrusher added, and that was when Lockdown's gaze jumped back to the figure before him.

"It seems that the jury has spoken," the figure said. "Any last words?"

"Please…please spare me, Lord Megatr…" Lockdown did not get any farther than that, as the figure had already run a sword through him that had extended from the figure's wrist.

"Let it be known that this is what happens to all those who betray me," the figure snarled as he gazed on at Lockdown's fearful and pained face. "And another thing, that is not my name any longer."

A few minutes later, Rey and the other two _Mars_ pilots had flown over to where Astrotrain had crashed down, only to find Lockdown's remains, some strange tracks in the moon's surface, and a few signs of a Fusion Cannon being fired. None of them were sure what to make of the fact that the Eradicons leader was lying dead in the ground with no sign of the person who delivered the killing blow being nearby anymore, since none of their own forces had reported it, and this had caused even Sentinel's team to be so caught up in the confusion that they never saw the space shuttle, helicopter, and Cybertronian jet flying away from the moon.

* * *

It was the day immediately following the battle that saw the end of both Djibril and the Eradicons when the _Archangel_, _Omega II_, and _Minerva_ had arrived at the Lunar City Copernicus, and after receiving the proper clearance, Kira and Lacus were allowed to head into the city with Athrun, Cagalli, Shinn, Lunamaria, and Meyrin with Bumblebee, Smokescreen, and Crosshairs acting as both bodyguards and Autobot Guardians for the group. Surprisingly, they ended up being joined by Miriallia, Dearka, and Drift at the last minute, and it was not all that hard for Athrun and Kira to guess why that was given how Dearka was acting surprisingly nervous around Miriallia and the girl herself seemed like she was bracing herself for something that she was not all that sure about trying. Some people on both ships were a bit skeptical about letting so many of their forces go out into the city like this as a group or otherwise, but Optimus was able to assure those people that this was for the best given how most of them had not had much time to rest and take time off since their mission had begun.

With that in mind, the group was off to explore Copernicus, and that is assuming exploring the Lunar City suddenly meant the girls were dragging both the Autobots and the boys around to browse around the city's mall and stores. While it was not all that shocking in the case of Lunamaria, Meyrin, and Miriallia, it did come as a small surprise that Lacus was just as into shopping as any other normal girl would be, and it was really surprising that Cagalli was as well. Bumblebee could only smile through his Holo-Form at the sight of the girls enjoying themselves while the boys did their best to keep up and keep themselves entertained at the same time, and from a small glance at the Holo-Forms of the other three Autobots' Holo-Forms, each of which were decked out in civilian clothing, the scout could tell that they were just as relieved as he was. The only downside was that it seemed that not all of the young humans was enjoying themselves as the others.

"Don't be so upset, Athrun," Kira lightly scolded his friend.

"I'm not that upset," Athrun immediately brushed off. "Just a little bit appalled."

"Uh, that's the same thing, dude," Dearka then argued.

"Seriously, we're taking a bit of time off, Athrun. You could at least try to take it a little easy," Shinn then added.

"How can I take it easy when it's concerning both Cagalli and Lacus," Athrun half-shouted in retort, drawing the girls' attention.

Thankfully, Kira was quick to assure the girls that there was nothing for them to be concerned about before adding, "Don't worry, Athrun. Lacus and I are alright, and so are you and Cagalli, and Shinn and Lunamaria, and even…well I can't really say that things are alright for Dearka and Miriallia."

"Hey, at least I'm trying here," Dearka huffed, getting a laugh out of all the other boys in response.

"Seriously though, just relax and stop trying to take care of everything alone, okay," Shinn then told Athrun with a smile and a thumbs up. Athrun stared at Shinn for a moment before he finally smiled and returned the gesture as well just as they headed into another clothing store, which normally would have led Dearka to comment on that type of thing, but he was trying to patch things up with Miriallia so he wisely kept it to himself.

As soon as they entered the store and the girls were busying themselves with either looking at clothes or picking out something they may want to try on, Shinn turned to Dearka and asked, "How'd you get Miriallia to come with you anyway, Dearka?"

Dearka allowed himself a small smirk as he boasted, "Well I finally gave myself a little pep talk by reminding myself that I had faced off with Decepticons, mobile suits, and all kinds of other stuff, and in comparison to that, trying to mend a relationship should be simple. After which, I walked up to Miriallia and flashed a little bit of the old Dearka charm at her and while she was hesitant at first, she eventually agreed on the terms that if I screwed it up she would never speak to me again unless necessary. It may be a risk, but it's one I'm willing to take."

"How much of that is actually true," Athrun then asked Drift.

"The terms that Miss Miriallia provided are accurate, but I believe that Dearka-san had actually taken it upon himself to engage in the human art of groveling at another's feet in order to get her to agree. He even got down on knees and bowed his head to her when he did so," Drift replied, much to the guys' amusement and Dearka's annoyance as the blonde grumbled something about blabber-mouth samurai 'Bots.

After seeing Lacus had gone to a changing room to try on some outfits, Bumblebee quickly pulled Kira aside from the other laughing boys to whisper, "Okay Kira, a little piece of advice: If Lacus asks for your opinion on how she looks in some of those outfits, do not, and I mean do NOT, give the exact same answer twice in a row. You got it?"

Kira was about to ask Bumblebee what he meant by that when Lacus stepped out in a purple colored dress and asked, "So, what do you think Kira."

Kira's gaze immediately ended up directed right at Lacus as he replied, "Looks good."

A minute later, Lacus had changed into another outfit and asked Kira for his opinion again, to which Kira had replied that it also looked fine. What he did not expect was Lacus suddenly start to pout as she lightly whined, "You don't seem to care what I wear."

"Oopsie," Haro suddenly exclaimed as he hopped around the group.

"What did I just say, Kira," Bumblebee asked as he slapped his forehead. "What did I _just_ say?!"

Everyone was soon laughing at Kira's attempts to cover up his blunder until Cagalli felt that she needed to come to her brother's rescue, but before the blonde could so much as say a word, a mechanical voice that sounded a lot like Haro's suddenly called out to them, and they all turned to see a bright red version of the spherical robot bouncing towards them and into Lacus's hands with a note in its mouth.

"This is Meer's," Athrun gasped as he and the others immediately formed a small huddle around Lacus with him, Shinn, and the Autobots' Holo-Forms immediately on their guard while Lacus took the note from the red Haro's mouth.

"Help. I'm going to be killed. Miss Lacus," Lacus read aloud, gaining everyone's attention.

"What," Kira, Shinn, Smokescreen, and Bumblebee all exclaimed as everyone's attention because solely focused on the pinkette.

"There's a map on where this will happen there too," Crosshairs commented. "A badly drawn one, but a map all the same."

"This has…," Meyrin began.

"Trap written all over it," Lunamaria finished for her sister.

"Yeah, but we can't just ignore it," Bumblebee pointed out.

"Damn," Athrun cursed. "And they set this trap knowing that, too."

"So is this really that girl that's been posing as Lacus," Shinn asked.

"Yep, Meer Campbell. The chairman and Sentinel's Lacus," Dearka growled as he punched a fist into his palm.

Bumblebee did not need to hear anymore than that before he switched into command mode. "Smokescreen, get Lacus and Cagalli out of here and back to the ships at once. In the meantime, we'll need to call for backup and try to find out why they're after Lacus now. Drift, you specialize in stealth operations, so you're the best option for…"

"I'm going to go with you," Lacus interrupted. "The person who sent this note is asking for me. It's something that we were going to have to address and deal with sooner or later, right Kira?" Kira's silence was all the confirmation that anyone needed to know he was not going to argue with his girlfriend. "I would like to meet with this girl and talk to her."

"Alright," Kira finally agreed, much to everyone's shock. "In any case, let's still contact the ships."

"Kira, are you insane," Athrun demanded.

"It's gonna be just fine, Athrun," Kira reassured his friend. "We already know this is a trap, and we're all together so it shouldn't be a problem for us to handle, right? I mean, we've got the 'Bot who was close to becoming the next Prime, an Autobot Elite Guard graduate, a couple of Wreckers, and six Gundam pilots in this little group. I think we can handle ourselves until any backup we call for arrives."

Bumblebee and the others found that they could not argue with Kira's logic and reasoning, and so the nine humans all raced out of the mall and back to the vehicle modes of their Autobot guardians as the Autobots themselves switched off their Holo-Forms while Bumblebee activated his comm. link and called out, "Bumblebee to Optimus, we have a situation."

* * *

A few hours later, Meer was sitting in a large, outdoor stadium waiting for the person that the woman named Sarah had asked her to try and contact. To be honest though, Meer was not all that sure about what she was doing or even what was real or not anymore. The chairman had asked her to stand in for Lacus so that she could help save the world, but if that was true, then why was that other girl in Orb saying that she was doing the exact opposite? Was it because the chairman seemed okay with working alongside the Decepticons? Why did it seem that the Lacus in Orb was so against what the chairman and Sentinel were promising the world?

These questions and more had been racing through Meer's head for days now, even as she thought back to the last time she had seen Athrun right before he had died, and even now Meer was wondering if what she was doing was truly the right thing. Meer's mind was brought back to her current situation when she heard her Haro coming towards her, and upon looking at the entrance it had come from, Meer was greeted with a miraculous sight. "Athrun, you're alive," Meer cried out as she ran up to him.

Before she could get any closer, Meer had to stop short when Athrun suddenly raised a gun up and aimed it directly at her. "Hold it right there," Athrun ordered. "I got your message, and I know this is some kind of trap. I'm giving you one last chance Meer; that's why I'm here."

"Athrun," a new voice called out, and at that point, Kira, Cagalli, Shinn, Lunamaria, and Meyrin all stepped out to where Meer could see them, each armed with a hand gun of their own, along with a woman in a dark pink coat with the hood up. The minute the hooded woman had stepped up next to Athrun, she lowered the hood to reveal Lacus herself.

"Hello Miss Meer," Lacus smiled to the young lady, whose eyes had widened in disbelief. "It's nice to finally meet you. You said in your note that you needed my help, and you were going to be killed. If so, then you're more than welcome to come with me."

No one was quite sure what to expect from Meer in reaction to Lacus's offer, but they were definitely not expecting Meer to suddenly start crying a bit and suddenly have some sort of mental breakdown as she cried out, "I should be the one! It should be me!"

"Take it easy, Meer," Athrun called out as he eased up on his gun and raised a hand in an attempt to calm her down. "Everything's alright, so just relax."

"But I'm the real Lacus," Meer then shouted. "Aren't I…I am! I mean, I have her voice and her face." What happened next was not something that anyone expected, as Meer suddenly pulled a gun out of the pocket of the jacket she was wearing and shouted, "When I'm Lacus, there's nothing wrong with me!"

Dearka was the first to react, as he fired his gun at the one that Meer had just pulled, and the weapon was knocked out of the Lacus-look-a-like's hand with a burst of energon, showing that the group was all using energon pistols. "You mind explaining why you never told us she was this nuts," Dearka then asked Athrun.

"This bit actually just started shortly before I made my escape from Z.A.F.T., so I wasn't really able to stop and fill you and Yzak in on that tidbit of information," Athrun answered before bringing his attention back to Meer. "That's enough Meer. Calm down."

"If it's my name you want, you may have it," Lacus then told Meer calmly, with a kind, yet sad smile that did not seem to fade from her face since the whole scene had started. "Take it all, but even then you and I will still be different people and that cannot be changed." Meer gasped a bit at Lacus's words and could not stop herself from falling to her knees and crying a bit as Lacus continued, "None of us can be anything other than ourselves, but that's why you and I exist and are standing here, isn't it? And that's how we're enlightened about people and ourselves. Your dreams are yours and yours alone, so please, when you sing, do it for yourself. They're your dreams, so don't let others use them for their benefit."

Meer looked up in wonder when Lacus said that, and was about to reach out to her when Kira's little, robotic friend suddenly flew down and called out to them, drawing Athrun's attention to a sniper that was hidden in the nearby shrubbery. Acting quickly, Athrun quickly pulled Lacus over to Kira so that he could pull his girlfriend behind cover along with Shinn and Dearka, who did the same for Lunamaria and Miriallia, and the blue haired boy then grabbed Meer's hand and pulled her to safety behind cover close to Cagalli and Meyrin while shots struck the ground around them. Athrun then took advantage of a break in the enemy gun fire to pull the three girls closer to where Kira and the others had taken cover, and then returned fire with his own gun along with Dearka before ducking back behind the wall they had taken shelter behind just as their attackers fired on them again, this time with some Vehicons backing them up as well.

"How many are there," Athrun shouted over the shots to Meer. "Do you know?"

"I-I don't know," Meer stuttered as she continued to cover her head with her hands in fear. "Just Sarah and someone named Quicksilver…"

Dearka opened fire once again before he ducked back and shouted, "From what I can tell, there's at least twelve on the human front, and about six Vehicons, for both Autobot and Decepticon enemies. No sign of this Quicksilver guy, though."

"You were able to pick up on all that from just a short glance," Miriallia asked in surprise when she ducked behind cover after trying to see if she could get off a few shots herself.

"I'll explain how later," Dearka told her before he signaled Athrun.

Athrun immediately nodded in response and then shouted out to Shinn, who nodded in return before running out on the right side while Athrun took the left, shooting at their attackers as they went and then took cover once more behind the stone steps. While they were doing that, Kira and Dearka continued to shoot at some of the other attackers in an attempt to keep their attention off of Shinn and Athrun while Lacus, Miriallia, and Meyrin did their best to keep Meer calm. Cagalli and Lunamaria then fired off a few shots at the enemy attackers as well before the red haired girl ducked back and tapped the comm. link in her ear and shouted, "Bumblebee, roll out now!"

The reaction was instant, as Bumblebee suddenly burst into the area, transforming from vehicle mode as he did, and immediately started going at it with the enemy Vehicons, somehow managing to avoid the humans beneath his feet as he did. Just as an enemy Autobot was taking aim at the scout, Smokescreen suddenly phased through the wall and fired his blaster at the Autobot, and he was soon followed up by Crosshairs as he dropped down from the roof and opened fire as well. A second later, Drift dropped down from his helicopter mode and readied his swords just in time to slash through a pair of Vehicons before he suddenly assumed a fighting stance and then seemed to dash past a number of enemies and slash them apart as well in a blur.

"You know, I think I'm starting to understand how Drift is able to match Wheeljack in sword combat so well," Cagalli commented as Kira led her and the others out of the way and to new cover before a grenade blew up the area they were just hiding behind.

"No kidding," Dearka agreed as he fired on their assailants, landing a few good shots on one or two as he did. "Makes me wish I was at least decent at close combat."

"Well you never were all that good when it came to getting close," Miriallia grumbled as she fired a few shots as well.

"Really? You're giving me a hard time right now," Dearka complained.

"Normally, I'd be doing what everyone else normally does when you two start up like this, but could you two please kiss and make up later? Like at a point when we're not in the middle of fighting for our lives," Lunamaria shouted as she fired a round in the area of one of the human attackers before shooting at the leg of an enemy Vehicon so that it was disabled long enough for Crosshairs to finish it off.

Miriallia's face went crimson at Lunamaria's words, but before she could shout something in protest, Dearka spotted a grenade that was flying right towards where she was. "Mir," Dearka instantly shouted as he jumped over to her. Miriallia did not have any time to react until Dearka had pulled her down and then spun around to shoot the grenade with precision aiming that sent it flying back the way it came and exploding on the one who had thrown it. "You okay," Dearka asked as he looked down at Miriallia.

"Y-yeah. Thanks," Miriallia stuttered as her face turned red due to the position she and Dearka were currently in.

As this was happening, Shinn and Athrun had just pulled off a quick maneuver and taken out the woman that Meer had identified as Sarah while Bumblebee had used his wrist blades to cut down two of the remaining Vehicons. When the final two Vehicons was about to shoot at the scout, a white blur suddenly swooped down and slashed one apart while a red, blue, and white blur swooped down and did the same with a beam saber a minute later. Upon looking at the ones who had just saved Bumblebee, everyone breathed a sigh of relief to see Wheeljack and the Star Force Strike Gundam standing before them.

"You guys alright," Neo called out from his new Gundam.

"What took you two so long Mu," Kira asked. "Get Lacus and the other girls out of here. We'll be right behind you in a second."

"Roger that," Neo replied after a minute of confusion that resulted from Kira's first comment.

"So, who do we call for clean up," Wheeljack asked as he put away his swords and transformed into vehicle mode and opened one of his doors so that Lacus and the girls could climb inside.

Soon enough, all the girls had climbed into Wheeljack except for Lunamaria and Meer, the former because she was a soldier and did not want to be treated like some damsel in distress that needed to be sheltered, and the latter because she was unsure if it was alright for her to come. Seeing that Meer was just watching the others climb into Wheeljack in uncertainty, Kira simply smiled and held out his hand as he said, "You too, Miss Meer. If you still want to come with us, then you're more than welcome to."

Meer was shocked by the offer, and if she were being honest with herself, she truly did want to go with them. Somehow, staying where she was did not seem like a good idea to her any longer given what had just unfolded and how things had been lately, but she was brought out of her thoughts when she saw Sarah starting to move a bit and then struggle to raise her gun up to fire one last shot. With no time to think, Meer simply jumped past Kira and threw herself in front of Lacus, who was still standing in Wheeljack's door as she cried, "Watch out!"

What followed next was Smokescreen diving towards where the two girls were standing so that he could shield them both just as the sound of a gunshot went off. As Smokescreen continued to cover the girls, Kira, Athrun, and Shinn all whipped around and pointed their guns towards Sarah, only to gasp in shock when they saw that she had already been shot to death. Meer and Lacus both glanced up at Smokescreen with a smile of thanks as Shinn relaxed his guard a bit and then asked, "What the hell just happened? Who shot her?"

"Whoever it was, they did it using a sniper of some kind," Dearka commented as he examined the dead woman's body, making sure she was dead as he did. "You could tell by the way that the shot sounded when whatever gun was used was fired. Judging by how the bullet had entered her body, it must have been from somewhere really high up."

"How can you tell all of that just by looking," Miriallia asked.

"When you use a machine that specializes in long-range combat, and use a similar fighting style yourself, you tend to pick up on certain things like that," Dearka explained as he threw a smile at Crosshairs. "That being said, nice reflexes Crosshairs."

Crosshairs threw a confused look in Dearka's direction before he said, "I appreciate the praise, but I can't take credit for that. I didn't even notice she was about to fire on them until Meer said something, same as the rest of you."

"But if it wasn't Crosshairs, or any of the rest of us, then who was it that did shoot her," Bumblebee asked.

"Don't know," Dearka said. "As near as I can tell, the shot came from a direction near where Crosshairs was standing. That's about it."

"We'll worry about it later," Neo then told them. "Let's just get moving before anyone else shows up and tries to kill you guys."

Everyone immediately nodded in agreement as Bumblebee and the other Autobots transformed into vehicle mode and raced back to the ships with the Star Force Strike flying above them and the other humans riding inside of them, not one of them noticing Quicksilver holstering his rifle from where he had hidden himself the entire time. "Be grateful for this small act of assistance, Autobots," the apprentice of Starscream muttered. "It is the last time any of your kind will receive true assistance from me."

With that declaration, Quicksilver assumed his motorcycle mode and activated a Holo-Form to give himself a rider as he raced out of the city, and once he had done so, he then assumed his jet mode once he was out so that he could return to the _Nemesis_ and report on his mission's success to Starscream.

* * *

**_AN: So yeah, Lockdown's dead, Djibril's dead, Thrust is dead, just about all the Eradicons are dead, except for Astrotrain whose fate at this time is unknown, but if you can't figure out who it was that ended Lockdown, then you will find out soon enough._**

**_Now as for our newest OCs, Evan Stanson and Sakura Regale, I wanted them to be like a darker version of the original version of Shinn and a reflected version of Lunamaria, except with more of an edge and a slight animalistic touch for when they're in battle. I am also fully aware of how many people are against me giving Evan the Arch Destiny instead of Shinn, but if you'll recall, the Arch Destiny was a machine that was, and I'm quoting it's creators here, the Gundam that Shinn should have received in the original continuity. In case you all forgot, Shinn is different now than he was in comparison to the original SEED Destiny continuity so why would he receive a machine that was meant for the angry, hateful, jerk version of him? Also, I wanted to emphasize that Evan was a much worse person than Shinn was in the original continuity and that his fighting style was vastly different from Shinn's so naturally he would handle the machine differently than Shinn probably would have._**

**_Shinn: Not that you really know that for certain. Plus, what about that whole deal with Sakura Regale anyways?_**

**_AN: Yes, thank you Shinn. Yes I will not deny I know anything for certain when it comes to the fighting style of the Arch Destiny, but what do you expect when you have nothing to go on but a bunch of pictures of the thing? My advice to Arch Destiny's creator, instead of ranting on about how great your creation is in comparison to the original, how about you let actions speak louder than words and try to make a little presentation video of the thing actually fighting in combat?_**

**_As for Miss Regale, I wanted her to have a personality that you would expect from one of those stuck-up girls that think that the world should bow before them while also making her a somewhat serious pilot. I'm honestly not sure how well I did in describing both Sakura and Evan's personalities in this chapter and fighting styles, but I like to think I did a decent job. Otherwise, you guys decide._**

**_Bumblebee: What about the Fury Impulse? Are we going to see any of its other Silhouettes?_**

**_AN: Nope, afraid not. Like I said earlier on, while the Fury Impulse has other sets of equipment like the original, it's pilot is so overconfident in her mastery of the default equipment, aka the Fury Impulse's version of the Force Silhouette, that she doesn't think she needs to bother with the others._**

**_Cagalli: And then there's the whole letting Meer live thing._**

**_AN: Yeah, I'll be honest, I didn't really like her all that much at first, but by the end of the series, I kinda felt bad for her. I mean, she was just this poor girl who wanted people to notice her and not think of her as just some random background face, so how can you not feel bad for her. Plus, I intend to let her stick around for a bit longer and have her make a small donation to the team's efforts later on in the series as well, but you won't find out any more on that until the final story or next chapter. So with that said, onto the preview!..._**

**_Meer joins the new Four Ships Alliance, just as Sentinel has his Chairman Durandal reveal the modified Destiny Plan to the world, along with the traitorous Prime's full intentions. Just how can one be expected to react when the beings that they had considered to be their heroes are actually the ones who end up enslaving them? With the truth now revealed, Kira, Shinn, Athrun, Optimus, Bumblebee, and the others all know their next course action and immediately head out to put a stop to Sentinel so that they may truly destroy the Requiem, and the mobile fortress Messiah. What will be their reactions when they encounter the second ship of the Minerva class, and just what sort of struggles will the beginning of the final battle bring? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 23: Horrible Truth****_. Destiny, Strike Freedom, Optimus, face off with the shadow that has now enveloped the world!_**

**_Shinn: So, how much longer is Rey going to be stuck as a girl?  
_**

**_AN: Oh until the next chapter is posted. Or maybe that was until we started working on the next chapter, but either way..._**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	23. Horrible Truth

_**AN: Hey, sorry for the wait everybody, but I had a hard time writing this chapter, as a lot of the things that happened this time around were not quite the same as they were before, so I really had to wing it when writing this. In all honesty, I was really expecting this chapter to be a lot longer than it ended up being, but I guess in the end it ended up the way I had intended it to be at least, and with this, we are but two chapters away from the conclusion of this story. That's right, there is but two chapters left! The next one, and the epilogue, and then its on to the anticipation of the third and final story in the trilogy! Exciting isn't it? But enough about that, let's get rolling!**_

_**I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 23: Horrible Truth**

After returning to the ships, Meer had been brought into a meeting with all the Gundam pilots and leaders of each ship to tell them her story. Apparently the chairman had chose Meer to pose as Lacus because people had said that her voice sounded so much like the pink songstress's, and since she was one of Lacus's biggest fans, Meer was quick to eagerly agree. After she had, she had been given a special kind of surgery that altered her appearance so that no one would be able to tell the difference between her and Lacus, that is unless it was someone who knew the real Lacus very well, and she was told that by taking on a role that Lacus likely would have she would be helping to save the world. It was clear to everyone that Meer truly had no idea what was really going on, and by the time she had started to even suspect something, it had already been too late, and she was quick to throw herself into a small bit of craziness in an attempt to deny it.

After hearing Meer's story, Elita and Ratchet had done a few medical scans of the girl, with her permission of course, and discovered that there did not seem to be a way to reverse the process that gave Meer her new appearance without knowing exactly what had been done. When she was told this, Meer simply shrugged it off and opted to simply have her hair cut instead, the end results being that she now wore her hair in a bob cut while a pair of bangs framed her face. After she had done that, she was given a Morgenroete uniform to wear in place of her old clothes since she did not have anything else with her after they brought her to the ships. Now she stood before the same individuals she had met with when she first arrived, as they felt that there was still some things that they needed to know from her.

"We don't want to pressure you too much Meer," Athrun assured the girl as she seemed to shift on her feet a bit uncomfortably beneath the gazes of the Autobots in the room and the commanding officers of the _Archangel_ and the _Minerva_. "But if there is anything you can tell us about Sentinel and the chairman's plans, then we'd like to know about it."

Meer nodded after a minute before she looked to the group and said, "I don't really know all that much, but I did start trying to overhear some of the chairman's conversations with Sentinel when I could after Athrun had left Z.A.F.T. I couldn't really make sense of most of it, but from what I could tell, it seemed as though it was more like Sentinel was giving orders to the chairman and the chairman himself was making no attempts to argue at all. I accidentally overheard the two of them speaking a few times before then, but at those times, it seemed more like they were trying to debate on things, and Sentinel wasn't trying to force his decisions on the chairman. Not that it seemed like Sentinel was forcing the decisions on him at those later times, it was more like he was just giving commands and the chairman obediently followed them, almost like a computer would or something."

While the information that Meer had given them was not all that much, it did end up giving them one small bit of information. "I'd say that acts as further confirmation that Sentinel used the Pretender Program to create a false version of Chairman Durandal, and then replaced the real chairman with the pretender," Yzak commented.

"Yes, it does seem that way," Talia agreed with a sad tone that no one had missed.

"But there is still the question as to what happened to the real Chairman Durandal," Heine mentioned. While he did have a point though, no one really wanted to think about some of the possible answers to Heine's question.

"I don't know if this would mean much," Meer suddenly spoke up. "But the day that I headed down to Gibraltar with the chairman, I had wanted to stop by his office for a minute to speak with him and make sure I had a good understanding of what I should be doing. As I was going there though, I had to pause when I suddenly caught wind of a very terrible smell, and that was about when one of the _Xanthium_ Autobots told me that the chairman wasn't seeing anyone at the moment and that he would meet me at the shuttle."

Meer's sudden recollection was enough to give everyone a good idea of what had happened to the chairman then, as there was not that many different things that would provide a valid reason for the circumstances that the former-false-Lacus had just described. Everyone was of course horrified by what that likely meant, and Talia was doing her best to keep herself from breaking down and crying at the loss of the man she had once held such a strong relationship with, but ended up being unable to do so and was soon being consoled by Natarle.

Hoping to bring everyone out of this moment of horror that had struck them, Optimus stepped forward a bit as he declared, "Whatever the final fate of Gilbert Durandal may or may not be, with the recent end of both LOGOS's leader and the Eradicons, it is very likely that Sentinel will soon be executing his endgame strategy. That is why we must now use what time we have to ensure we are prepared for what is to come."

"Hate to break it to you, Prime, but I think we're out of time," Jazz called out as he rushed into the room, panting heavily after he stopped to catch his breath.

"What Jazz talking about," Grimlock growled.

"Announcement…news…Durandal," Jazz panted.

"Whoa, Jazz, take a deep breath, and tell us again," Crosshairs told the first lieutenant.

Jazz did as the paratrooper had told him to and then said, "Bring up a news feed. Doesn't matter which one. Durandal's making an announcement to the world right now on all of them."

Ratchet was instantly at the control board and punching in the command to access the news networks that the _Omega II_ was able to patch into, and the group was immediately met with the image of Durandal, or rather, Durandal's pretender replacement, as the announcement ran. "It would appear that the storm may have already begun," Drift commented, softly.

The announcement began as many would have expected it to if Durandal was giving it himself, as the man spoke of how they had promised not to repeat the mistakes of the past, and yet ended up being swept into a war after Junius Seven fell, and then led into reminding everyone of how one could only wonder how this had happened. At this point, the chairman pretender went on to say, _"One reason, as I have pointed out, was the existence of LOGOS and the Eradicons. They created enemies, prompted fear, forcing the two sides to fight, collected the resulting profits, and even tried to force us to turn on the Transformers who had risked their lives to save our world in our previous war. Throughout the history of Earth, LOGOS are the people who had thrived in the shadows, the merchants of death, and throughout more recent history in the universe, the Eradicons have done the same on countless worlds, treating it as though it were a criminal empire, but we have finally succeeded in destroying them both. That is precisely why the time is right for the next step."_

"Now it begins," Murrue then stated softly as her face gained a small scowl at the image, and her comment was quickly agreed upon by the other commanders of the ships that were currently docked at Copernicus.

_"Now is the time for us to confront another enemy. The greatest of them all,"_ the pretender chairman continued on. _"And we will achieve victory against this enemy as well, so that we may know true liberation. Everyone in the universe should understand, that even on other worlds, the universe's greatest enemy has been with us since the dawn of time, and why it will never disappear. This enemy, whom humanity alone has never yet overcome, is none other than our own ignorance and selfish ambitions. Even now, after leaving Earth, reaching the heavens, and establishing peaceful contact with alien life forms from beyond our world, and even after learning the secrets of the body, we still fail to understand each other, to understand ourselves, and we face the future with uncertainty. Such anxiety, to be equal? No, to be richer! Our limitless desires forcing us to grasp at more! That's who humanity is right now, and it's who the Transformers have now become after being able to free themselves from such a life. We have sown the seeds of conflict, we are the problem, but we are now at a point where we can end that, and where we have someone who will ensure that it will end. As such, I am initiating the Destiny Plan, and am thus effectively bringing Earth under the guidance and leadership of Cybertron's true leader, Sentinel Prime!"_

At this point, the camera had been brought around to show Sentinel standing proud and tall in his new armor, and with a hidden smirk of triumph on his face that only one who had known his true intentions all along would have been able to see. _"You will not regret doing this, Chairman Durandal,"_ Sentinel then informed the chairman before addressing the television audience. _"In its basic sense, the original Destiny Plan was designed to save humanity by allowing everyone's roles in life to be determined from birth based on their genetic structure, but after careful consideration and discussion between myself and the chairman, it is now clear that humanity has but one role to play in the grander scheme of the universe: To aid in the betterment of other life forms who are superior to them, and the first step in doing so is actually quite simple. Aboard my vessel, is a device that shall allow us to send workers and even troops from your world across space and to the homeworld of my kind, Planet Cybertron. Once there, we shall begin the ultimate act of salvation for the universe, which shall end all conflict across the cosmos. We shall restore life to Cybertron, and with the aid of humanity, that dream shall at last be made a reality. If you believe that this is an optional path, then you are welcome to think that, but I warn you, those who do not comply with our demands shall be considered as traitors not only to Earth, but to the universe as well, and in a truly peaceful world, treachery is a capital offence with only one punishment. Not to worry, there will not be a single role for all, everyone shall still have a different role to play, but the division of humanity among the larger universe, I'm afraid, is simply that of brave warriors or just simple workers. I look forward to what I hope to be the signs of all the leaders of your world making the correct decision."_

With that the broadcast had come to an end, and while everyone knew that it truly had begun the minute that the broadcast had started, they were still shocked by what Sentinel's endgame was. Though he had not directly said it, Sentinel had all but announced that humanity was now being enslaved to the Transformers who sided with him both to serve as cannon fodder and to bring Cybertron back to life, and after that, they would be forced into what was, essentially, a new caste system like the one that had led the war for Cybertron to begin in the first place. Eventually, Neo made the mistake of speaking up and saying, "Aside from the obvious, on paper it truly does seem like the promise of a peaceful existence, but the problem is this whole thing would take away everyone's free will."

"It does not _seem_ to be a peaceful existence at all! Sentinel is attempting to force the caste system upon us all once more!" That particular outburst, and the destruction of one of Ratchet's tools from the obvious anger, had come from Optimus Prime, much to everyone's shock, as this was the first time that everyone in the room had ever seen Optimus so angry, if at all.

"Uh, Ratchet," Wheeljack whispered to the medic. "Isn't this normally when you say that you needed that?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes, but given that this is Optimus who had done so, along with the reasons for doing so and the fact that he is still so furious, I would much rather keep silent this time," Ratchet replied in the same soft whisper. Wheeljack would normally have complained and said that Ratchet was showing favoritism, but given how furious Optimus seemed to be, he definitely had to agree with the medic's chosen course of action.

* * *

On the Z.A.F.T. space fortress Messiah, Sentinel was now receiving reports of confirmation or refusal that the world leaders had given him in regards to their willingness to cooperate with his plans, and to be perfectly honest, the treacherous Prime was not surprised by the results thus far. Naturally, Orb had immediately refused, which was no surprise considering that the young woman known as Mineva Lao Zabi seemed to be just as strong willed as Cagalli, and the refusal that immediately followed came from the Kingdom of Scandinavia, also not surprising considering their close ties with Orb. There were a few nations that were hoping to open negotiations with Chairman Durandal, but that only caused Sentinel to laugh as it showed that humans were much more pathetic than he had once thought, since they did not seem to realize that Durandal was no longer in charge of anything.

_"Yo, there's news Sentinel,"_ Blaster suddenly announced from where he was on the _Xanthium_. _"We're detecting movement at Arzachel. Looks like the Atlantic Federation President's a no go, so how do we want to respond, yo?"_

"Prepare the Requiem," Sentinel replied. "We'll have to fire it at least once to prove our point. In the meantime, have Z.A.F.T.'s Lunar Fleet, the _Mars_, and Starscream's forces rendezvous at coordinates four-three, eight-six."

_"Understood, I'm on it now. Looks like we're in for quite the pow-wow."_

Sentinel nodded as the communication ended, just as Chromia, Scattershot, Mirage, and Kup walked in. "Kid may have put it in an irritating way, but he does have a point," Kup commented once he had reached his commander.

"Yes, indeed he does," Sentinel agreed. "And I doubt I need to tell you who we should expect to be coming to this 'pow-wow' as Blaster put it."

"Those ships and their warriors," Chromia snarled. "The _Archangel_, the _Minerva_, and the _Omega II_."

"Oh I think we should expect more than that, First Commander," Sentinel then informed said individual. "We should likely expect the vessel known as the _Eternal_ as well."

"It is but another human ship, sir," Mirage commented. "I fail to see what difference that can make."

"Perhaps," Sentinel consented. "But all the same, Orion Pax and his forces will be there with them. We underestimated them before, and that is a mistake I do not intend to let _anyone_ make a second time. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir," the four chorused in salute, and with that, Kup, Chromia, and Mirage turned to return to the _Xanthium_ while Scattershot remained behind with Sentinel.

"Is something the matter, Scattershot," Sentinel asked.

"No sir," Scattershot immediately answered. "I'm merely concerned about a matter of unity among the troops."

"Explain," Sentinel demanded.

"Sir, we have now been betrayed by Smokescreen, Crosshairs, Drift, and a vast majority of the _Minerva_'s crew," Scattershot elaborated. "Who's to say we can trust anyone now? For all we know, those two pilots from the Joule Team, Nicol and Shiho, could turn on us just as easily as their allies had, and the same goes for all the human forces that stand with us. Not to mention that Starscream and the Decepticons are not trustworthy to begin with, so naturally they are of great concern. In the case of our own forces though, while the Protectobots are practically made to follow any and all orders, they are also too soft and comprised of former emergency response 'Bots, while the others also have close ties to some members of Orion's…"

"Now that is enough," Sentinel interrupted. "I understand your concerns, old friend, but you have no need to worry. The humans are of no threat to us anymore than an ant is to them, and I am certain that you and the others have done everything necessary to ensure that our forces remain in line."

"Yes sir," Scattershot confirmed. "But that still leaves Starscream and…"

"Starscream is nothing more than a joke," Sentinel cut in once again. "He may have been quick to take over for Megatron, but he is no real leader. We've already secured the loyalty of many of his followers without him or anyone else even realizing it, and by the time this is over, Starscream will not be of any concern to anyone, and the Decepticons will be nothing more than a small addition to our might. Any other concerns you wish to express?"

Scattershot paused to think on what Sentinel had said for a minute before he finally saluted and answered, "No sir. You've put them all to rest."

"Good. Dismissed," Sentinel then said, and Scattershot left the room to return to their ship with the others, leaving Sentinel alone in the Messiah control room just as the Requiem was fired, and allowing him a moment to smirk in confident victory. The whole time he was doing that and watching the last of the Alliance's major fighting strength being wiped out by the Requiem, Sentinel never once noticed a silver, red, and platinum colored glistening coming from a nearby shadowed area of the room, indicating that someone had just heard everything that Sentinel had just said to his inner circle.

* * *

Kira, Athrun, and Shinn had been in the _Archangel_ and _Minerva_'s hangar bay doing some maintenance on their respective machines when they received word of the destruction of Arzachel, and upon hearing this news, they had quickly raced over to the _Omega II_ to find Lacus, Cagalli, Murrue, Neo, Natarle, Talia, Yzak, and Dearka there already with the Autobots who commanded the Cybertronian ship viewing the end results on the monitor. "I guess Sentinel decided not to dismantle it after all," Neo growled under his breath as he looked on at the smoke that had resulted from Arzachel's destruction.

"And I'd say it's a safe bet that the Requiem isn't the only thing that he'll have in his arsenal that can make that big of a boom," Hound added a minute later.

"Most of the remaining fighting strength of the Alliance was just wiped out with that last shot," Natarle then informed everyone.

"In terms of destructive power, that thing is on par with GENESIS, and that's if you don't count the fact that it doesn't seem to use cyber matter in its beam," Athrun snarled. "Depending on the relay points…"

"There isn't a single place on Earth or anywhere in this part of the galaxy that they can't target," Shinn finished with a scowl.

"Damn him," Yzak cursed under his breath. "He's not only completely insane, but he's a monster as well."

Cagalli and Lacus continued to glare at the image on the monitor for another minute before they nodded to each other and then turned to everyone as the blonde said, "Everyone, we should get in touch with Orb and then link up with the _Eternal_."

"What's the plan," Kira asked the two.

"Either we submit, or we die," Lacus answered. "In any case, this world is finished. There's nowhere to run anymore."

"You're right," Athrun admitted, and he found the others voicing similar agreements shortly after that.

"Then we must move out at once to ensure that the change that comes to the world is one that truly is for the better, and not in the way that our enemies believes that to be," Optimus then stated. "Sentinel must be stopped, no matter the cost. Autobots, Gundam pilots, and all allies, roll out!"

Everyone immediately began scrambling to their stations when Optimus gave that order, and in no time at all, the three ships were blasting into action with the _Kusanagi_ following behind them a short time later to join up with a small fleet of ships that were composed of allies that Lacus, Waltfeld, Aisha, DaCosta, and Flay had found after returning to the _Eternal_. Shortly after this, the remaining three ships had joined up with a separate fleet that was being headed by the _Eternal_, and they were on their way to what they all knew would be the final battle of this terrible nightmare.

* * *

The plan that the now Five Ships Alliance had set up was quite simple, in all honesty. The _Minerva_, _Archangel_, _Eternal_, and _Omega II_ would move to take out the first relay station that the Requiem used in order to disable the weapon of mass destruction, while the _Kusanagi_ would lead a fleet to destroy the cannon itself. Naturally, one would assume that by having a majority of these special forces' ace units focused in one area would be counterproductive, but they were all certain that the minute Sentinel heard that the four ships were heading for the relay station, he would be more than likely to send most of his own best forces after them. With that in mind, the minute they arrived at the relay station, only Kira, Athrun, Shinn, Optimus, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen headed out to face the defense forces guarding the station, while the others remained on standby for the moment.

As soon as the Strike Freedom and Infinite Justice had launched, they had immediately docked with the METEORs that the _Eternal_ carried before racing off into the swarm of Z.A.F.T.-Decepticon-Autobot defense forces that were around the relay station. Once they and their four companions had gotten close enough, Lacus had attempted to give one final plea for the gathered forces opposing them to see reason over an open-channel broadcast, only for her words to fall on deaf ears, as the Vehicons of the forces simply opened fire without even pausing to listen to her words for even a second once the six were in range. The Z.A.F.T. mobile suits were then quick to join the fray, albeit a bit more hesitantly, but it proved to be a pointless effort, as most of the mobile suits were quickly brought down by the Strike Freedom and the Infinite Justice, with the Destiny clearing out any that they might have missed, and the Vehicons were immediately dealt with effortlessly by the three Autobots.

It seemed for a moment that they would be able to eliminate the relay station with no problem at all, but unfortunately, those hopes were quickly dashed when a sudden beam barrage shot into the paths of the six warriors, and caused both Gundams and Autobots alike to come to an instant halt in order to see the Z.A.F.T. Lunar fleet heading towards them with the _Nemesis_ in the center of the formation, and a crimson colored ship that held a distinct resemblance to the _Minerva_ leading the pack.

"Tell me they didn't," Natarle gasped from where she sat on the _Minerva_'s bridge, having decided to serve as deputy captain for the former Z.A.F.T. vessel after Talia had requested she do so.

"Another _Minerva_," Shinn gasped.

"It's starting to feel like the situation with the _Dominion_ all over again," Kira commented.

_"Attention, _Minerva_, _Omega II_, _Archangel_, and all other affiliated forces,"_ a voice suddenly called out from the _Minerva_ look-a-like. _"This is the Z.A.F.T. Minerva Class warship,_ Mars_. You are to surrender at once and cease all hostile activities, or we will be forced to destroy your vessels and those who serve it."_

"Arthur," Talia gasped upon recognizing the voice.

"Here we go again," Natarle muttered, already having a pretty good idea of how this sort of situation played out from having experienced the same thing first hand, just on a different side of the conversation.

Talia could only glare at the now identified _Mars_ before she picked up the phone-like device on her chair's armrest and replied, "This Captain Talia Gladys of the _Minerva_. We will not surrender to anyone, especially to people who are so easily fooled by the lies that Sentinel has weaved. Arthur, if you stand in our way, then we will not hesitate to bring you down."

Talia cut the communication line before she could so much as hear one word of protest from her former deputy captain, and then started giving out orders for the ship to prepare to fire all weapons on the _Mars_, just to show how serious her promise to take action against the enemy Minerva Class ship was. Soon enough, each of the ships that sided with Optimus Prime's Autobots were engaged in a full scale battle with the enemy forces, and it was not long until the remaining Gundams had launched into battle along with the remaining Autobots, save for Jazz, Elita One, and Ratchet.

As he and Bulkhead tore through the enemy units that came after them, while still following Kira and Athrun's lead on merely disabling the mobile suits without killing the pilots, Shinn had to glance around the battlefield and wonder why Rey had not joined the battle as well. His train of thought was quickly interrupted though, when he saw a black, red, and silver mobile suit suddenly blast through the battlefield and even cut down some of the small army of new DOM mobile suits that the _Eternal_ had brought along into the battle, and Shinn could not help the gasp of shock he had to let out when he noticed just how great a resemblance the new enemy unit had with the Impulse. Before he could think any further on that though, the Impulse replica suddenly blasted towards him, beam saber in hand, and threw a mighty slash at him, which he just barely intercepted with the Destiny's shield.

"So you're the big bad Destiny pilot," an arrogant, female voice called out. "Wow, and I thought the reports on your skills might have been a little exaggerated, but now I can see they weren't. They were beyond over exaggerated."

"Who the hell are you, and why are you piloting a machine like the Impulse," Shinn shouted as he pushed the enemy machine back with his shield and opened fire with the Destiny's beam rifle.

"First off, don't compare my Fury Impulse to that little bitch's machine," the woman snarled as she deflected Shinn's shots with her beam saber before returning fire with her own rifle. "And second off, the name's Sakura Regale, and unfortunately for you, it's the last name you'll ever hear, traitor. My associates, Evan and Rey, each wanted a shot at you themselves, but I can guarantee, that they'll be disappointed to find out that the mighty Shinn Asuka of Destiny ended up being unable to face either the Legend or the Arch Destiny, because he fell by my hand instead. Now that's what I call…"

"Oh just shut it already," a new voice suddenly cut in, and the next thing either of the two knew, a small barrage of beam blasts suddenly struck the Fury Impulse from the side, just as the original Impulse Gundam had burst onto the scene and unleashed a mighty slash on its black and red counterpart. "Shinn, leave this little bitch to me," Lunamaria growled.

"Are you sure, Luna," Shinn asked as he fired his rifle at some incoming suits, just to be sure that they were not suddenly attacked while they were talking. "She's pretty tough."

"Yeah, I'm sure of it," Lunamaria replied, her tone showing confidence while being laced with venom. "No one mocks my machine, me, and you all at once and gets away with it."

"Okay. Just be careful," Shinn agreed before blasting the Destiny off in another direction, hoping to get to his next target as fast as possible.

"Hey, where's the fire, kid," Bulkhead asked.

"Trust me, Bulkhead, you do not want to be over there right now," Shinn commented before firing the Destiny's beam cannon at a line of enemy GOUFs. "I've seen what happens when Lunamaria Hawke gets that angry, and it's not a fate I'd wish on anyone."

"How bad are we talking," Bulkhead asked as he blasted through some mobile suit's arms and heads before slamming his wrecking ball fist into three Vehicons.

"Let's just say that I'm pretty sure that it would give the Wreckers cause to call for backup," Shinn replied, and that immediately sent a shiver down both his and Bulkhead's spine, just as they were suddenly assaulted by a barrage from Blackout and the Seekers.

"Well, better that nutcase in the knockoff Impulse than us," Bulkhead commented. "Besides, if she was over here right now, she'd probably hog all the fun."

Shinn glanced at Bulkhead and the grin he wore for a minute before the young pilot gained a smirk of his own and immediately nodded in agreement and charged in to engage the Decepticons that were coming down on them, with the other Wreckers and the Akatsuki joining in a few minutes later.

* * *

The battle between the two Minerva class ships had ended up being one that seemed far too familiar for Murrue and Natarle's tastes, and as such, the _Archangel_ was quick to move in and provide assistance for Talia's ship, while Yzak and Dearka both moved to provide support for the two ships alongside Neo. The three mobile suits were more than willing to do what they could, but the three ships were matching each other's every move so well that the pilots were a bit concerned about doing anything. Eventually, they ended up helping the Dinobots and Aerialbots in attacking the _Nemesis_, a fact that led Starscream to take off and join the battle as well. This action proved to be an unwise choice on the Seeker's part, as the moment he had assumed robot mode and paused after blasting one of the Marasames out of the sky, he had ended up being slammed through the relay station by Grimlock in his tyrannosaurus mode.

Just as Grimlock leaped through the hole in the station that he had made when he hit Starscream through it, Starscream had finally felt he had enough of all that he had ended up having to put up with since returning to Earth and immediately shot up as he shouted, "Enough!" The Seeker's sudden outburst caused Grimlock to pause and revert to robot mode as Starscream continued on saying, "You are all beneath me! I am superior to you all, do you hear me?! I am Starscream, the rightful lord and master of the Decepticons! I have dealt with both of the two different kinds of Autobots for far too long, and I refuse to continue being bullied by such simple-minded, brutish…"

Starscream did not get to finish his rant, as Grimlock had grabbed him by one of his legs and began swinging him around and banging Starscream on the floor he currently stood on like a rag doll. How long he kept this up for, Starscream could not tell you, as it felt like an eternity to him, but after giving a good number of slams on the floor they currently stood on, Grimlock finally got bored and threw Starscream through the opposite wall, and Starscream ended up crashing into the remains of a destroyed Z.A.F.T. ship, feeling far too battered to even move a finger.

As he stomped back out of the relay station, Grimlock's only comment was a simple, "Puny lord." Just as he was about to leap towards another target, Grimlock spotted the _Mars_ was in his line of attack, and he instantly smirked and shouted, "Dinobots kick copy ship butt!"

The minute he shouted that, Grimlock had jumped from the relay station and landed on the back of the _Mars_, destabilizing the ship under his massive weight when he did, and he then unfolded his sword and slashed through the main engines of the crimson ship. Grimlock then leapt off the ship, slashing his sword through the side of the ship as he went, and Slug then rammed into the ship's side. The triceratops Dinobot then transformed into robot mode and fired his blaster at the ship, allowing Swoop to swoop in and unleash a barrage from the blaster in his pterodactyl mode's mouth, and Snarl to finish the job by unleashing a rolling attack on the ship in his stegosaurus mode.

After the Dinobots assault had come to an end, everyone thought that the second Minerva class ship was finished, but they did not realize how wrong they were in that regard. Before Arthur could give the order to abandon ship, something suddenly took control of the ship's controls and caused its positron cannon to prepare to fire on the _Minerva_. There was just one problem. "Given the rate and angle of its descent, it won't end up firing at us," Natarle commented.

"Where will it be aiming," Talia asked.

"…At the _Archangel_," Natarle exclaimed in fear after a minute.

"Damn it," Talia snarled. "And if they try to avoid it, then the _Eternal_ will be hit. Prepare to intercept the blast with the Tannhäuser!"

"It's too late," Natarle exclaimed, and they all found that they could only watch in horror as the positron blast sailed through space towards the _Archangel_. Just as the blast was about to hit though, something flew into its path and blocked the blast. Upon further inspection, both Murrue and Natarle found themselves facing déjà vu, as the Star Force Strike Gundam had actually managed to move in front of the blast with its shield forward.

"You're not getting the _Archangel_," Neo shouted as he used every last bit of the Star Force Strike's absorption ability to draw the positron blast into its shield until finally, the blast had completely dispersed. The whole time, Neo had ended up gasping in shock as he suddenly found himself seeing images of a similar incident flashing before his eyes, along with numerous other images of himself with Murrue, Natarle, Wheeljack, and all the others, so that when the blast had finally been completely absorbed, the only words Neo could say before preparing to fire a powered up energy blast from the Star Force Strike's beam rifle were, "I…remember."

With that final shot, the _Mars_ had been completely crippled, which provided the _Minerva_ with the opening it needed to finish the job with its own Tannhäuser, proving once again that one could not beat the originals, as Neo opened a line to the _Archangel_ and said, "Sorry for the scare, but I'm okay now. Oh, and sorry for making you wait so long Murrue."

Murrue could only gasp in shock before she eventually asked, "Y-you mean that…is it really…?"

"I promise, I won't ever leave you again, so let's finish this up and go home," the blonde man smiled in reply, confirming that Neo Roanoke was no more, and Mu La Flaga had finally returned at last. The Star Force Strike was quick to then fly up and slash through a group of Vehicons that were about to get the jump on Wheeljack, and he then commented, "You just can't live without me, can you Jackie?"

Wheeljack glanced at the Gundam before he let out a hearty laugh and cried out, "Yeah, now that's the Mu La Flaga I remember! I've finally got my old wingman back!"

"Yeah, now let's go wreck these guys," Mu smirked as he turned his mobile suit to face the enemy.

"Way ahead of ya," Wheeljack replied as he pulled out a hand trigger and pressed the control. A minute later, a series of explosions lit up the relay station, and the entire structure was quick to collapse after a barrage from Optimus, the Strike Freedom, the Infinite Justice, and the Destiny. With their first objective completed, the members of the Five Ships Alliance moved to provide support to the _Kusanagi_, the whole time, Talia and the other members of Z.A.F.T. who had once served alongside Arthur were saluting the remains of the _Mars_, and giving a respectful farewell to their former comrade.

* * *

When she noticed the explosions from the relay station out of the corner of her eye and the _Mars_ going down, Sakura could only snarl in disgust before she finally managed to break off her battle with Lunamaria and began to fall back, leaving the elder Hawke sister to move to assist the others while promising that the two would finish their battle soon enough. Once she was certain that Lunamaria was gone, Sakura tapped her comm. link and called out asking, "Hey, Sentinel Prime, you still have control of the _Mars_'s systems?"

_"Yes, I do,"_ Sentinel's voice replied. _"Only just barely though. What happened?"_

"That spineless captain couldn't get the job done and ended up getting his ship sunk and himself and the crew killed," Sakura answered in a tone that made it seem like she did not care. "More importantly, I need the Deuterion Beam fired now, along with a new leg flyer. Next time I see that bitch, I'm going to end her."

_"I'd watch your tone when speaking of the dead, and your language when speaking to me, human girl,"_ Sentinel warned. _"But since I'm in such a good mood today, I'll let you off with a warning, but make no mistake, if I have to hear from you again, you will face my wrath."_

"Whatever you say," Sakura waved him off as the beam fired into the Fury Impulse's head and her destroyed leg flyer was replaced with a fresh one, and the arrogant woman immediately blasted off after the Impulse and the others, but she only had one target out of them all in her crosshairs.

* * *

It was not long until the Requiem's cannon was in the _Kusanagi_'s sights, but the minute they and their fleet had tried to fire on the weapon, their blasts were immediately deflected by a positron shield, and unfortunately, that was not the worst of their troubles. A moment after Optimus, Kira, Shinn, and the others had arrived, a large structure suddenly seemed to rise up from the other side of the moon, until they could all only gasp in shock at the sight of a massive, mobile fortress. A quick scan on Jazz's part revealed that the _Xanthium_ was flying up in front of it, and the remainder of Sentinel's forces, save for Blaster, Blur, Mirage, and Sentinel himself had already launched and were now prepared to face them. The most troubling news came in when Miriallia and Sai suddenly detected a familiar reading on their scanners.

"Captain, there appears to be some sort of large weapon preparing to fire from the fortress," Miriallia announced.

"Can you tell what it is," Murrue asked.

"From what I can tell, it seems to be…oh no," Sai gasped. "It's a cyber matter cannon!"

That was all the reason anyone needed to immediately begin shouting out orders to evade the incoming blast, and soon enough, Sai and Miriallia's scans were confirmed, as the familiar sight of a cyber matter ray suddenly streaked across the starry sky of space and along the moon's surface, transforming much of the lunar terrain into cyber matter structures. Almost instantly after the blast had ceased, the Legend and the Arch Destiny had come blasting out of the fortress, and towards the battlefield, and they had each soon engaged the Strike Freedom and the Destiny in battle, respectively.

"So this is the mighty Destiny," Evan shouted as he crossed the Arch Destiny's Ascalon sword with the Destiny's anti-ship sword. "I'm not impressed. If anything, it just makes me want to destroy you even more, you damn traitor!"

"Don't you get what you're doing," Shinn shouted as he pushed the Arch Destiny back and slashed at it with his sword, only to miss with every single swing as the machine seemed to be just too fast for him. "You're practically helping Sentinel destroy everything that the Autobots have ever fought for, and all that makes humanity great!"

"Shut it! I don't have to listen to someone who sympathizes with those traitor Autobots and the Athha bitch," Evan shouted as he tore the Ascalon sword through Shinn's energy shield, much to Shinn's shock.

"Don't you dare say that," Shinn shouted as he entered SEED Burst mode so that he could avoid the follow up blast from one of the Arch Destiny's palm beam cannon and then charge in once again with his sword. "You have no right to talk that way about Optimus's team or Lady Cagalli!"

"I have every right," Evan shouted as he met Shinn's charge with the Ascalon sword. "I lost everything because of that librarian's team and the Athhas, and I'm going to see to it that they pay!"

Shinn was completely caught off guard by that statement, and that allowed Evan the chance to push him back with the Ascalon beam sword and then arm the Ragnarok Cannon. Seeing the danger he was in, Shinn immediately armed his beam cannon and fired a blast into the one that the Arch Destiny had fired in response, but the resulting explosion had ended up disorienting Shinn, and he found that he would not be able to recover in time to either intercept or avoid the next blast that the Arch Destiny was already preparing to fire. Shinn could only shut his eyes in anticipation for the blast that would tear through him, but was surprised to find that it never came.

Shinn snapped his eyes opened just in time to see the Nero Blitz had intercepted the blast with its variable arms' crystallized state, and then sent it right back to where it came from. A minute after the Arch Destiny had narrowly dodged the reflected blast, it was hit from the side by a barrage from the Rosa Aegis in its shooting mode, and Evan was then met by a barrage from the opposite side, courtesy of the Verde Buster and the Blu Duel. A minute later, the Infinite Justice and the Savior had flown in, and while the latter moved to join the fight right away, the former stopped to float alongside the Destiny as its pilot called out, "We'll deal with this guy, Shinn; you go and help Kira stop the Legend so that you guys can help Optimus."

"Athrun," Shinn asked in confusion, wondering what Athrun was thinking.

"Having your best friend on the wrong side really sucks," Athrun then somberly said. "But believe me, it sucks even more for him until he gets a cold, hard slap of reality that he really needs. Go and get your best friend back, Shinn, and leave this one to us."

Shinn hesitated for another moment, but when he saw how well the team of five Gundams was doing against the Arch Destiny, which was now lashing out like a crazed animal, he ended up nodding in response and finally telling Athrun that he would do as he had been asked before blasting over to the Strike Freedom, which had already engaged the Legend after discarding its METEOR like the Infinite Justice had. Shinn made a note of the battles raging around him as he went, and as such, he spotted the Akatsuki and the Star Force Strike moving to try and blast through the positron shield around the Requiem along with Ironhide and the Wreckers, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, and Arcee facing off against a swarm of Insecticons while simultaneously fighting Autobot Vehicons until Arcee broke off to engage Chromia once again, the Aerialbots engaging Bruticus, Devastator, and Defensor, the Dinobots fighting against the Insecticon leaders and anything else that ended up in their way, the Impulse engaging the Fury Impulse once again, and Optimus basically fighting off anything else that threatened any of the separate battles.

Finally, Shinn had arrived at the area where Kira and Rey were battling it out, and exchanging blasts, Kira with one of the Strike Freedom's arm blasters, and Rey with the Legend's beam rifle and DRAGOONs, and he immediately made his presence known by tossing a beam boomerang into Rey's path, and then unleashing a blast from the Destiny's palm beam cannon at close range. "Rey that's enough," Shinn shouted. "You don't have to do this!"

"Out of my way Shinn," Rey shouted. "This is between me and the ultimate Coordinator." With that said, Rey shook Shinn off for a minute and then charged at Kira as he declared, "Kira Yamato. You should never have been allowed to exist, boy!"

Kira and Shinn both froze when they heard that declaration, the latter because he could not believe that his friend would say such a thing, and the former because he had heard those words from someone else once before, and Rey's actions and fighting style was far too much alike to that person's to be a coincidence. "Who are you," Kira gasped in his shock.

"I'm sure you recognize me by now, Kira Yamato," Rey growled. "I am…Rau Le Creuset! Man kind's dream, man kind's future, you are the splendid result, Kira Yamato, and because of that, you're existence must come to an end! You'll disappear with us, for the sake of the new world that is to come!"

Kira and Shinn both gasped in horror at Rey's declaration, each for their own reasons once more, and then braced themselves for the new heights that the battle was about to reach in the final struggle to end this war for good.

* * *

**_AN: So, there you have it, the beginning of the end, for this story. Yeah, I know, I am evil for leaving you hanging with that cliffhanger, but in all honesty, I felt that this battle would have been best done if split into two chapters, because otherwise it would've ended up a little too long for everyone's taste. Now, I hope none of you are too disappointed that Shinn's not the one fighting against Evan and the Arch Destiny, but I just want to say now, that I had intended it to be that way all along. All you guys who kept saying that the Arch Destiny could still beat Shinn even with a pilot like Evan, you're probably right, I'm not ashamed to admit it, but no tree can stand up to the force of powerful winds for long until it eventually falls, or to put it a way you can all understand, no matter how powerful a single Gundam may be, it does not mean that it will be able to stand against six Gundams with incredible pilots at their controls on its own, especially when that one Gundam has a pilot like Evan Stanson._**

**_Also, show of hands, who did not see the confrontation between Lunamaria and Sakura coming? No really, if you didn't see that coming, then you should probably be telling yourself that you should have. Gundam level cat fight anyone?_**

**_Another thing, the _Mars_, yeah, it did not last long, and it is now gone, along with its crew, but the ship itself is not entirely lost, thank you very much Sentinel (he said with heavy sarcasm), and I hope you can all understand why the Star Build Strike, or Star Force Strike as its called in this story, was given to Neo, or Mu, instead of another version of the Strike Gundam._**

**_Lastly, that whole moment between Grimlock and Starscream, if you're thinking that it was like what happened between Hulk and Loki in the Avengers, then your right. One of my reviewers had suggested I do something like that after Grimlock showed up, but the original idea had Grimlock doing it to Sentinel. In all honesty, I liked the idea, and that's why it ended up in here, but somehow, it just made more sense with Starscream. So, now that all of that's been said, onto the preview!..._**

**_The final battles have commenced, the final face-offs are here, and the ultimate test of truth and of Primes is upon us. Who will emerge victorious when the smoke clears, what sort of words will be spoken among the combatants, what actions will they each take, and just who will survive the battle in the end? Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Destiny Sentinels…_****Chapter 24: The True End****_. Strike Freedom, Destiny, Optimus, blaze a new trail to the future!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!_**


	24. The True End

_**AN: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Autobots and Decepticons, and all others alike, I give you the end to the final battle of the Destiny Sentinels saga. You will see great struggle, hated enemies end, loss of life, and an early idea of what the Decepticons are going to do once the smoke clears, while also glimpsing what is to come once the dust has settled. So now, the cast and I have nothing more to say than let's roll out to the story!**_

_**I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 24: The True End**

A storm in outer space. That was the only way one could describe the battle that was currently taking place, as explosions rang throughout the stars, ships crashed into the surface of the moon, and amidst all the chaos, the true Autobots and their allies in the Gundams were battling it out to the bitter end with enemy Gundams, Decepticons, and even those that they had once called allies, friends, or even brothers. If one were to try and interfere without being in the same class as any of these warriors, they would have been annihilated within seconds by the sheer feeling of intensity alone.

The greatest example of this being from the battle that had now commenced with Kira and Shinn on one side, and Rey on the opposite, as the blonde continued to charge at the duo claiming that he was the fallen masked soldier, Rau Le Creuset, and ranting just as said fallen soldier would have, and the battle's intensity became so great that Lacus found herself entering SEED Burst mode the minute she had sensed Kira was in danger. None of what Rey was saying made any sense to Shinn, but for Kira, it was like he was fighting an old ghost that he would have much rather forgotten, even though he knew that the person in the Legend was not really Le Creuset. Throughout his ranting, Rey kept up a strong barrage with the DRAGOON system that the Legend was equipped with, and it was all Shinn and Kira could do to either avoid the blasts, or deflect them with the Destiny's anti-ship sword and the Freedom's beam saber or sword arm.

After hearing Rey go on again about how the world should change and that he would ensure that he would do it, Shinn had finally had enough of dodging and deflecting blasts, and just charged in with his sword at the ready. "That's enough Rey," Shinn shouted as he brought his sword down on the Legend, clashing it with the black mobile suit's beam saber. "This isn't the way to bring about a better tomorrow! Can't you see that Sentinel has deceived you!"

"Shut up," Rey shouted as he pushed the Destiny back and then unleashed a swarm of DRAGOONs on the crimson eyed pilot. "If Gilbert thinks this is right, then that's fine by me!"

"Don't you get it, Rey," Shinn shouted. "That guy you've been getting orders from is not the chairman! You know him better than anyone aside from Captain Gladys, surely you can see that!"

"Stop calling me that," Rey screamed in retort as he fired on Shinn once more with a new intensity that Shinn had a hard time evading and deflecting in any way. "The one thing you can't run away from is yourself, and the one thing you can never recover is your past. That is why we must end all of this, sweep everything away, and we shall return to what we were meant to be. Humanity, the world, it will all be what it was meant to be, just as I am now being who I was always meant to be!"

"No you're wrong," Kira exclaimed as he switched the Strike Freedom's sword arm into blaster mode, and then did the same with the other arm after holstering his beam saber and calling on the Strike Freedom's own DRAGOONs before he unleashed a powerful barrage that destroyed some of the DRAGOONs that Rey was using. "We all have just one life to live, and this is your life your living! It's not his, and no one has any right to tell you otherwise!"

"You don't know…what you're talking about…" Rey tried to argue, even though he knew that Kira was right.

"Don't try to fight it Rey," Shinn called out as he blasted more of Rey's DRAGOONs out of the sky with the Destiny's beam cannon and then charged in with his machine's sword at the ready. "You know that we're right! You're not this Rau Le Creuset person, you're Rey Za Burrel, the guy who got me into Z.A.F.T. and became my best friend!"

Rey instantly froze at Shinn's words, and he could feel every last drop of fight in him suddenly fade away, giving Shinn the chance to slash apart the Legend without damaging it too severely, and leaving it unable to continue fighting any longer. Shinn was about to move the Destiny forward to assist his friend, but he was instantly held back by the Strike Freedom as Kira called out, "Don't worry about him right now. We've got more important things to take care of."

Shinn glanced at Rey's machine one last time, confirming that the blonde was still alive inside the wrecked Gundam, until he finally looked back to Kira to nod in understanding, and the two then immediately blasted off towards Messiah alongside Optimus. As they were heading out though, Shinn had to point out, "We can't just leave these guys like this though."

"We won't be," Kira assured the younger pilot as he contacted the others. "_Archangel_, Athrun, _Omega II_, go on ahead to Requiem and destroy it. The Justice can break through that shield easily. Optimus, Shinn, the _Eternal_ and I will take care of this fortress."

_"But if we do that, the _Eternal_ will be vulnerable,"_ Murrue argued.

_"No it won't,"_ Talia immediately argued. _"We'll keep the _Eternal_ covered while you go and take out that cannon."_

_"Right now, Orb is more important than us,"_ Lacus then added. _"That country and our own forces are the only things standing in the way of Sentinel's plan. If we lose either this battle or Orb, then we lose not just our world, but the universe as well! We must protect Orb and ensure we succeed at all costs!"_

Optimus nodded in agreement with Lacus's sentiments and Kira's plan, and then tapped his comm. link as he called out, "Optimus to all Autobots, the minute any of you sees an opening, move in to capture the _Xanthium_. We cannot allow that ship or its cargo to be destroyed, but we can also no longer allow it to remain in Sentinel's hands!"

At the chorus of "yes sir" in response, Optimus engaged his jetpack's maximum thrusters and rocketed off towards Messiah along with Kira and Shinn, the whole time, all three of them were silently hoping that the others were doing alright with their own respective battles, right to the point where they never even noticed the Legend heading towards the same destination after its pilot had regained consciousness.

* * *

The battle between the two Impulses had immediately heated up to new levels the minute it had recommenced, and Lunamaria was determined to not let the pilot of the Fury Impulse win. Of course, the same could easily be said for Sakura Regale in reference to the original Impulse pilot, but naturally, not for the same reasons, or even the reasons that everyone else on Sakura's side was currently fighting for. As she lashed out with the Fury Impulse's beam saber and hurled DRAGOONs at Lunamaria, the only thought on Sakura's mind was defeating Lunamaria for sole purpose of proving that she was better than the elder Hawke sibling, and that she was getting payback for Lunamaria's sneak attack that had interfered with Sakura's battle against the Destiny Gundam.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you asked, Lunamaria was able to keep ahead of the arrogant girl. "Why don't you just quit you little bitch," Sakura shouted as she fired her beam rifle in a rapid fire barrage on the Impulse.

Lunamaria simply spun out of the way of the blasts, while also blocking some with her machine's shield and then retaliated as best she could in kind, as she retorted, "I'm sorry, are you talking to me, or to yourself?"

"What'd you just say," Sakura shrieked as she spun her beam saber and slashed at Lunamaria with everything she had. Lunamaria barely had to do anything more than make the Impulse lean to the side a little in order to avoid the blow before she followed up with a kick to the Fury Impulse's chest. As soon as she recovered from the shock of the blow, Sakura aimed her machine's beam rifle at Lunamaria once again, only to discover that the weapon had overheated due to being used so much with such intense frequency. "Damn it."

"What's wrong? Did you push your machine past its limits," Lunamaria mocked as she holstered her own machine's rifle and then pulled out her own beam saber from the Impulse's backpack. Lunamaria then slashed at the Fury Impulse as fast as she could, and while Sakura was able to dodge the first few blows, Lunamaria was able to back her into a corner soon enough. Just as she was bringing the energy sword down on the enemy Gundam though, an energy shield suddenly appeared around the Fury Impulse and deflected the blow, causing Lunamaria to be thrown off balance from the shock that came from hitting it.

"Oh I'm sorry. Should I have warned you about that," Sakura retorted in response to Lunamaria's earlier quip. "There's no way you're getting past the energy field that my DRAGOONs give me, little bitch."

"Yeah, we'll just see about that, slut," Lunamaria growled in reply before she used the Impulse's free hand to arm her beam rifle once again and start firing on the Fury Impulse, hoping that she could at least hit one of the DRAGOONs, but the problem was, even though there were so few of the bit-type weapons, Sakura had them moving between their energy field generating state and their attack state so quickly, that most of Lunamaria's shots could not even come close to grazing them.

The whole time she was dealing with trying to get rid of the DRAGOONs though, Lunamaria had not realized that the Fury Impulse was closing in on her until said black and red Gundam was right on top of her, and the minute she did, it was too late to react, as the Fury Impulse had already hit her hard with both its beam saber and its DRAGOONs beam blasts. Lunamaria considered herself very lucky to have recovered in time to avoid getting hit by the barrage of blasts that came her way from the beam pistol that the Fury Impulse had now switched to in place of its rifle, but it did not change the fact that she could not try to do anything so long as Sakura's DRAGOONs remained a problem. Lunamaria was not about to give up without a fight though, and that was why she blasted back out from behind her cover towards the Fury Impulse, with the Impulse's beam saber armed and swinging.

Most of her swings did nothing more than strike the energy field around the Fury Impulse, and as such, Lunamaria found that she was having to avoid taking on further damage more than her opponent was, while said opponent only laughed mockingly at Lunamaria's attempts. Sakura was about to call Lunamaria out on the violet red haired girl's futile attempts to strike her, when suddenly, one of the DRAGOONs generating her energy field was suddenly destroyed, disrupting the energy field for a moment. "What the hell," Sakura shouted.

Lunamaria glanced to her left and saw Crosshairs with his guns out and aimed directly at each of the DRAGOONs surrounding the Fury Impulse, and she immediately knew who fired the shot. "Guess you're not as tough as you thought," Lunamaria remarked.

"Shut it," Sakura shouted as she swung her beam saber at Lunamaria while having her DRAGOONs fire on the Impulse. "I'm better than you! I'm stronger than you! I've got the better machine! There's no way I could lose to you! I REFUSE TO LOSE TO SOME LITTLE BITCH!"

"Hate to break it to you, slut, actually no I don't, but you've already lost," Lunamaria retorted as Crosshairs fired again and took out a few more DRAGOONs, leaving only two.

"NO! I HAVEN'T LOST! YOU'RE JUST SOME BRATY GIRL WHO'S ALL ALONE," Sakura continued to deny vehemently.

"Shows what you know," Lunamaria smirked as she slashed apart the Fury Impulse's legs and one of its arms.

"An Autobot is never alone," Crosshairs finished as he fired his guns at the final DRAGOONs and the remaining arm. Sakura gasped in shock upon seeing that her mobile suit was completely disabled, but she refused to accept what was plain as day, and simply blasted her suit towards the Impulse as she armed the self-destruct. She never made even close to Lunamaria, as Crosshairs reacted on instinct and fired everything he had at the Fury Impulse Gundam, until it exploded in a fiery blaze, leaving nothing but the machine's head and a few spare parts in its wake.

"You okay, Lunamaria," Crosshairs asked as he floated over to the Impulse

Lunamaria found herself breathing heavily after just barely surviving Sakura's kamikaze attack, but as much as she wanted to feel sorry for the deceased pilot, she found that she just could not do it, because there seemed to be nothing redeemable about Sakura Regale from where she stood on this side of the conflict. After finally regaining her composure, Lunamaria looked to Crosshairs and nodded as she said, "Yeah, I think so."

"Glad to hear it," Crosshairs remarked. The Wrecker sharp shooter then indicated the battle that was happening around the _Xanthium_ as he asked, "Now, how about we help the others take over my old ship?"

"Let's do it," Lunamaria agreed as she grasped the controls of her Gundam and blasted towards the _Xanthium_ along with Crosshairs, only stopping to fight the Decepticon drones that stood in their way along with the other Wreckers as they did.

* * *

Evan Stanson was not in a good mood right now. Of course, that was not saying much since he was never in a good mood to begin with, but he was in a really bad mood right now especially. He had been robbed of his chance to destroy the Destiny and its traitorous pilot, Shinn Asuka, only to be faced with the members of the Joule team, Heine Westenfluss, and Athrun Zala, all in their Gundams, and to add further insult to injury, in his opinion, Athrun had seemed to decide that Evan was not worth the legendary veteran pilot's time. With all of this in mind, Evan wanted to tear apart anything and everything until there was nothing left but the man he considered to be inferior to him, along with said individual's mobile suit, and if he had to tear through the five Gundams before him, then he would not have a problem with that. Sadly for him, that was quickly proving to be easier said than done.

No matter what he threw at the five Gundams, it seemed that the Joule team was able to outmaneuver him at every turn. Whenever he fired the Ragnarok cannon, the Nero Blitz would intercept the blast and send it right back at him, allowing the Rosso Aegis and the Savior to fire their best guns at him, when he tried to get in close and tear through them with one of his swords, the Verde Buster would fire whatever it had in its artillery at him and drive him back, right to where the Blu Duel was waiting for him, and when he tried to do both at the same time, the Savior and Rosso Aegis would simply switch to mobile armor mode and outmaneuver him before unleashing a barrage that drove him right into the remaining three's line of fire. Needless to say, it was pissing Evan off to whole new levels that even he was unaware of having.

It did not help matters for him that the Aerialbots were swarming around Defensor, Bruticus, and Devastator, laying everything they had into the three combiner warriors. One would think that one team of combiners against three would have been suicide for the one, but since the Aerialbots had yet to combine into Superion and simply continued to fight as their individual selves, they seemed to possess the advantage in speed and cautious fire power, as they always aimed for certain points on each opponent, their targets on the two Decepticon warrior being more critical than the ones on Defensor. Eventually, Evan had enough of everything that was going on, and decided that he might as well take his troubles out on what he figured was one of the most obvious obstacles to getting what he wanted. "Why can't you alien freaks just go back to wherever the hell you came from," Evan shouted as he aimed the Arch Destiny's Ragnarok Cannon towards the battling combiners.

The minute he saw this, Yzak immediately shouted, "Silverbolt, Jetfire, Jetstorm, Air Raid, Wing Saber, get out of there! The Arch Destiny is aiming right at you guys!"

The minute the five Aerialbots heard Yzak's cry, they immediately took evasive action and attempted to warn Defensor, but it was too late, as the Ragnarok Cannon had already been fired at full power, and the Protectobots were hit hard with the barrage that had followed. Upon seeing this, the _Omega II_ immediately locked weapons on the two Decepticon combiners and opened fire, knocking Bruticus out of the fight. Once they had confirmed that the Combaticons were temporarily dealt with, Silverbolt immediately led his team over to Defensor while Dearka unleashed a massive barrage using everything he had on the Arch Destiny, angered beyond anyone's belief at the Arch Destiny pilot's actions, and it was not long before Yzak and the others finally joined him in that barrage.

Defensor looked up at the Aerialbots and saw that Jetstorm was already doing everything he could to repair the damage to him, much to his surprise, and he could not help but ask, "Why are you helping me? I'm your enemy."

"No, you're an Autobot who can't realize that sometimes following orders is not the best way to get a job done," Jetstorm corrected.

"What he means is, we get that following orders is important, but sometimes, you have to do what you think is right even if it goes against your orders," Silverbolt explained. "You can't honestly tell us that you think that Sentinel is right in what he's doing."

As Jetstorm continued his treatment of Defensor's injuries, the five Protectobots were all debating Silverbolt's words inside of his processor. "Should we really trust him? I mean, he and his comrades are fugitives that need to be brought in to face justice," Prowl told his companions.

"Is that you talking, or is it Sentinel," Red Alert asked.

"I don't know if they're right in what they say, but I do know that our orders were to always protect all life, and it seems that these guys are doing just that while we're doing the opposite," Inferno then said.

"My bro's right," Roadblock agreed. "I mean, we're working with the Decepticons, the guys who destroyed our world, and Sentinel said that he knew that it would happen. So if they're the criminals, what does that make us, the guys who side with such obviously evil beings?"

"…I think we know what we have to do now," Evac concluded. "Are you with me, team?"

"Yes sir," the remaining four Protectobots stated, and a minute later, Defensor rose back to his feet, having now been fully repaired by Jetstorm.

"Then let's end this, the right way," Defensor declared. He then smiled to the Aerialbots as he clarified, "Alongside the ones who have been doing the right thing all along, while we were doing nothing more than blindly following orders."

Silverbolt smiled at this before he turned to his own team and exclaimed, "Let's do this. Aerialbots, combine into Superion!"

A minute later, Superion was standing on the battlefield alongside Defensor, and the two were quick to engage Devastator, while the Arch Destiny did everything he could to bring down the Joule Team Gundams. "I refuse to let anyone stand in my way anymore," Evan shouted. "I'm better than some alien freaks, a bunch of fossils, and some traitors! I'M BETTER THAN ALL OF YOU!"

"You're nothing more than a mindless monster who couldn't give a damn about his own comrades," Dearka shouted in retort as he fired everything he had at the Arch Destiny.

"And we would rather give up our lives for nothing than let someone like you so much as win, let alone live," Nicol then added as he fired the Nero Blitz's Trikeros and launcher at the Arch Destiny, knocking the Ragnarok Cannon out of its hands with one shot, and the weapon was quickly destroyed by the Verde Buster's beam rifles a minute later.

Evan quickly tried to pull out the Ascalon saber, but it was immediately blasted out of the Arch Destiny's hand by the Rosso Aegis's Scylla beam cannons. When the Arch Destiny then grabbed both the extra hilt for said sword from its side along with a beam boomerang from its shoulder, he activated the hilt's beam dagger mode and threw both weapons at the Rosso Aegis, but the attack was quickly deflected by the Blu Duel, which then swooped down to slash its beam saber through the Arch Destiny's left arm and right leg. The Savior then swooped in and fired a few shots from its mobile armor mode, which then destroyed one of the wings on the second version of the Destiny Gundam, throwing the machine completely off balance.

"No! I won't let this happen! Not until I make them all pay," Evan shouted in protest as he jabbed and struggled with his machine's controls. "Athha, Orion Pax, his team, all of you will pay for what you have done to…"

"Oh just shut up," Superion shouted. Evan then turned his machine around to the Aerialbot, only to find himself facing directly at both Superion's and Defensor's cannons just before the weapons fired. In a massive blast of energon, the two weapons destroyed the Arch Destiny completely, leaving nothing but space dust behind in its place.

Seeing that the Arch Destiny was now no more, Nicol and Shiho then moved to support the _Eternal_ alongside the DOMs, while Yzak, Heine, and Dearka moved to join up with Athrun and Mu, who had already made it to the Requiem, and were preparing to break through the shield. What they never noticed was that Superion and Defensor's blast had also allowed a path onto the _Xanthium_ to be cleared, but the fact was noted by a certain scout. "Autobots, we've got an opening onto the _Xanthium_! Smokescreen, Arcee, Drift, Hound, Bulkhead, on me! We're taking that ship, now," Bumblebee shouted as he slashed through some Vehicons with his new wrist blades.

"Roger that," the five replied to Bumblebee, and they all immediately began to make their way over to the ship, but the moment their pedes had touched the surface of the _Xanthium_'s upper deck, they found their path blocked by Chromia and Scattershot. The team all got ready for a fight, but before they could make a move, Arcee and Bulkhead raced forward and engaged Chromia and Scattershot directly.

"Bee, we'll handle these two," Arcee shouted. "You guys go on and capture the ship!"

"Okay," Bumblebee nodded as he and the others raced into the _Xanthium_. "Be careful 'Cee."

Arcee did not have a moment to acknowledge Bumblebee's request, as she had to bring her full focus onto her battle with Chromia the minute after she heard Bumblebee's confirmation of having heard her. Arcee was able to block most of Chromia's initial strikes, but it was not long until she was knocked off her feet, and set crashing down to the moon's surface, with Chromia following. "I never thought I'd have to end my own plating and energon like this, but it seems you leave me no choice, Little 'Cee," Chromia snarled.

"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you," Arcee retorted as she swept Chromia's feet out from under her with a sweep kick. Arcee threw a hard kick into Chromia as the older femme was falling to the ground after Arcee's initial attack, but Chromia was quick to flip back to her feet, only to do everything she could to avoid the barrage Arcee was firing at her with both her default blaster and her Plasma Cannon a minute later. Chromia then took advantage of a moment when Arcee had to pause in order to reload her cannon, and immediately raced up and slashed Arcee across her chest with her arm blade.

Chromia then attempted to fire her arm blaster at the downed Arcee, but the minute she fired the blast, it was intercepted by an energy field that had surrounded Arcee at the last minute. Upon closer inspection, Chromia saw that a set of gold colored DRAGOONs had suddenly appeared around her younger sister and generated the field, and she immediately had to leap out of the way of the attack that Cagalli had thrown at her from out of nowhere using the Akatsuki's twin beam saber. "Stay away from her, traitor," Cagalli shouted.

"This does not concern you, little human bitch," Chromia shouted as she kicked the Akatsuki in the center of its torso, sending the golden mobile suit to the ground when she did. Chromia then attempted to finish Cagalli off by aiming directly at where she believed the cockpit of the Akatsuki was located, but she was immediately tackled away by Arcee, and the blue femme was now beyond pissed off at her "older sister".

"First off, don't you dare touch her," Arcee snarled. "And second off, my 'older sister', Chromia died mega cycles ago. Finally, that human's name is Cagalli, and _she_ is my sister." Arcee then attacked Chromia with a ferocity unlike anything Cagalli had ever seen before, and in the end, she flipped over Chromia as she slapped something onto Chromia's wrists, which seemed to cause Chromia to freeze up and fall to the ground just as Arcee landed and growled out, "And you're dead to me, Chromia."

It was at that moment that Cagalli finally managed to get the Akatsuki onto its feet, and when she did, she saw that Arcee had locked Chromia in a pair of stasis cuffs. The blonde leader of Orb then looked to her older sister figure as said Autobot requested a Ground Bridge to the _Omega II_'s brig so that Chromia could be locked up somewhere safe, and she asked, "Are you okay, Arcee?"

Arcee took a moment to get herself together before she finally turned to the Akatsuki and replied, "I will be, but now's not the time to be concerned about that. We've got a battle to finish."

Cagalli nodded in reply, and the two immediately took off to the Dinobots' location, only to find that they were not needed there once they saw Grimlock and his team tearing into Decepticons and enemy Autobots like they were nothing, and so they simply elected to go and help Athrun, Mu, and Wheeljack bring down the Requiem, noting that Bulkhead was doing the same thing that Arcee had done a moment ago after locking Scattershot in a pair of stasis cuffs as well, and then seeing Ratchet had left the ship so that he could do the same to Kup after defeating him as well.

* * *

As Mirage saw Kup and Scattershot get locked into stasis cuffs and thrown through a Ground Bridge that was likely headed for the _Omega II_'s brig from the _Xanthium_'s bridge, he could only slam his fist into the arm rest of the captain's chair as he exclaimed, "Lousy diablos. They are ruining everything!"

Blaster could only glance from the monitor to Mirage before he finally looked at Blur and nodded to him and then rapped out, "Well this has been _real_ fun, but I think it's time to say we're done."

"What are you," Mirage started to ask, but he was quickly silenced when Eject suddenly blasted him in the chest from where he was seated at the helm controls. Blur then raced over and pulled any additional weapons that Mirage had on him away while Blaster hit the control on his shoulder and unleashed all of his Mini-Cons on the scout of Sentinel's inner circle.

"Sorry Mirage old pal, but we're done with Sentinel's little pow-wow," Blaster rapped out. "If we're going to really save our home, then I think we'd rather do it right then let the freedom of others go. We're taking over the ship, so what're you going to do about it?"

"Simple, el traidor," Mirage growled as he flipped out his wrist blades and slashed at Steeljaw and Rewind, forcing the two off of him, and he then charged at Blur. The fast moving Autobot was quick to get away from Mirage's attack, but Mirage simply moved to strike down someone that was not as fast as Blur, and attempted to slash apart Blaster instead. Just as he was bringing his blade down on Blaster, Mirage found his blade intercepted by another, and that was when he realized that Bumblebee's team had made it to the _Xanthium_'s bridge, and the scout himself had stopped his attack.

Bumblebee then pushed Mirage away, and the red, Spanish speaking Autobot suddenly found his hands locked into stasis cuffs by Smokescreen. A minute later, Drift had forced Mirage through a Ground Bridge to the _Omega II_'s brig so that he could join his fellow traitor Autobots, and Bumblebee turned to the remaining two Autobots on the _Xanthium_'s bridge, only to see both Blaster and Blur raising their hands in surrender. "Cool your exhaust pipes, brother. We don't want to fight, that's why we're saying we surrender."

Bumblebee just looked at Blaster for a few minutes before he finally nodded and tapped his comm. link so that he could call out, "Bumblebee to all points, the _Xanthium_ is ours. I repeat, we have captured the _Xanthium_."

_"_Archangel_ to Bumblebee,"_ Murrue's voice then called back. _"The Akatsuki, the Infinite Justice, the Star Force Strike, the Impulse, Wheeljack, Arcee, and Crosshairs have just taken out the Requiem cannon. What's our next move?"_

_"Has anyone heard from Optimus, Kira, and Shinn,"_ Elita asked. _"They were last seen headed towards the Messiah, but we haven't had any contact with them since."_

"If that is the case, then they're likely going after Sentinel," Bumblebee informed them. "And given that we now have control of the _Xanthium_, we can't afford to allow Messiah to be completely destroyed. Did everyone get that? Do not destroy Messiah."

A chorus of confirmations immediately answered Bumblebee, and with that done, the scout then requested for Hound to remain on the bridge to watch Blaster and Blur in case they were not sincere about their surrender, and then led Drift and Smokescreen to see if the object on Sentinel's ship that they needed was still functional, or at least salvageable.

* * *

Messiah was exploding all around them from the moment that Kira, Shinn, and Optimus had landed inside of it. Of course, they were partially responsible for that seeing as Kira needed to use a METEOR to power up the Strike Freedom and help open up an entry for them while disabling the space fortress from the outside as best as they could. Once they had, the three had flown inside, and the two pilots had climbed out of their machines to join Optimus in heading for where they knew Sentinel would be, both humans armed with an Energon Pistol. After a few minutes of traveling partially destroyed passage ways and nearly avoiding explosions, the three had finally arrived in the control room, and found no one there other than Durandal, or rather the pretender Durandal.

"I have to admit, I am surprised. I did not think any of you would make it this far," the false chairman said as he rose up from his seat with a gun of his own in hand. Kira and Shinn said nothing in reply as they simply raised their guns up to aim at the pretender before them. "Oh, I see," the fake Durandal then said. "But are you certain that's…"

The false chairman never finished his sentence, as a gunshot suddenly knocked him off his feet and onto the floor, revealing the robotic parts that were hidden underneath his skin the minute the shot hit him. As Shinn lowered the gun he just fired, he then commented, "We didn't come here to talk to some lifeless puppet."

"Indeed we did not," Optimus stated as he readied himself for the coming battle. "Now get out here, Sentinel!"

The three waited in silence as the fortress shook around them for a moment, until they finally heard Sentinel declared, "Oh Orion. You never learn."

A minute later, Sentinel had dropped down from above them, with his Energon Saber in hand, and he unleashed a powerful energy wave from the sword that knocked Optimus off his feet. Optimus was quick to recover with the use of his jetpack while Shinn and Kira took cover behind some fallen rumble as he blasted towards Sentinel, leading the two to find themselves engaged in an aerial battle between titans. Sentinel was quick to holster his powerful sword in favor of arming his arm cannons so that he could fire them on Optimus instead, but Optimus was able to outmaneuver the shots, only allowing himself to be hit once so that he could use the force of the blast to spin around as he armed his Minigun and then opened fire on Sentinel using said weapon.

Sentinel received multiple direct hits from Optimus's attack, but he quickly recovered and blasted towards Optimus, until he was directly above the leader of the true Autobots. Once he had reached that position, Sentinel raised his large arm cannon and brought it down on top of Optimus, sending the red and blue Prime crashing to the floor. Sentinel then landed a minute later and aimed his arm cannon directly at Optimus while he held the downed Prime at point blank range, but before he could fire, a barrage of energon blasts suddenly bombarded him, until they eventually ended up disabling and destroying Sentinel's weapon. Sentinel immediately spun to the source to see Kira and Shinn firing at him with their Energon Pistols, and he knew immediately that the two were responsible for destroying his weapon, but before he could attempt to retaliate on the pilots, Optimus had already leapt up and grabbed the other arm cannon while landing a powerful left hook into Sentinel's face.

As Sentinel fell back, he could hear his other cannon being torn apart by the fact that Optimus was still holding it in his strong grip, and Sentinel only snarled for a minute before he armed his shoulder cannons and fired on Optimus, just as he was priming his left arm blaster for action. Optimus had quickly tried to fly out of the way, but Sentinel's shoulder cannons eventually hit his wings and caused him to fall into a lower level below the command deck. Sentinel started to walk over to where Optimus had fallen, wanting to be sure that he was victorious, but Kira and Shinn were quick to take advantage of Sentinel's moment of distraction and used their guns to destroy the shoulder cannons that Sentinel still had armed. Sentinel could only snarl at the two before he tried to charge at them, only to be stopped by a barrage from below that caught him off guard.

Looking to the source, Sentinel saw Optimus aiming his new Minigun at the traitorous Prime, and Optimus then jumped as high as he could before engaging a short burst from his jetpack's thrusters so that he could safely land on the same level as Sentinel and his two human friends. Optimus then immediately began to fight Sentinel in hand-to-hand combat, but Sentinel was quick to retaliate in kind. After finally grabbing Optimus in a strong hold, Sentinel shouted, "Don't you see Orion? I can give you back Cybertron, restore order to our world, make it like it was and always should have been. How can you be opposed to that?"

"Because it would mean giving up everything we have been fighting for," Optimus shouted as he elbowed Sentinel in his stomach and then punched his former friend in the face. "All that we have struggled against the Decepticons for, and everything that makes the Autobots who we are would all be lost if your terrible plan were to be carried out, and not only that, but you would enslave an entire race in order to carry out this plan of yours, and that is something that I cannot allow to happen!"

"Then by all means, finish it Orion," Sentinel shouted back as he allowed Optimus to slam him across the floor. "But know this, if you do so, then you will be sacrificing your little friends."

Optimus did not have to wonder very long what Sentinel meant when he said that, as he soon heard Kira gasp out in shock along with Shinn. Optimus immediately spun around and saw that the Durandal pretender was on its feet once again and had one of its hands around Kira's throat while its foot was crushing Shinn beneath it. "How much further are you willing to allow yourself to fall, Sentinel," Optimus growled.

"I am only doing what is necessary to restore Cybertron to what it once was," Sentinel replied.

"No, you're just trying to keep living in the past," Shinn shouted, drawing everyone's attention to him. "You don't want to save anything, you're just so scared of what may or may not happen later on that you're willing to sacrifice everything just so things can go back to what they were before your war started, but that's the whole problem right there! The war on your world may not have started at all if that caste system that your trying to bring back had never existed."

"Silence boy," the Durandal pretender shouted emotionlessly. "If you keep doing this, then you will all be responsible for condemning this world and all of the universe back into darkness and chaos once again. This is the truth."

"You may be right," Kira choked out as best he could. "But we have the ability to choose a different path as long as we live in a world, or even a universe where we can make those choices."

"But no one chooses correctly," Sentinel argued as he slammed Optimus down on the ground, holding the end of the Energon Saber at the red and blue Prime's chest after he did so. "They say they won't let it happen again, and that they're going to change the world this time, but who can guarantee that? Nobody can guarantee that, not either of you two human mechs, not this pathetic librarian, certainly not the young lady on that pink ship of yours, and not even any of the librarian's little followers. None of you knows what the future holds."

"We get that," Shinn shouted. "But we can learn to understand and we can learn to change for the better!"

"And that's exactly why we want a tomorrow," Kira then added as he continued to struggle against the pretender's grip on his throat. "No matter how much we suffer, we don't want a world where nothing changes."

"How arrogant, and how appropriate for the ultimate Coordinator," the pretender Durandal commented.

"You and…no. Sentinel, you're the one who's arrogant," Kira shouted. "This thing holding me is nothing more than a lifeless shell of a man who wanted to make his world better. Maybe it wasn't the right way to do it, but he still had good intentions. As for me, I'm nothing more than a single human being. We're no different than anyone else, neither is Lacus, Optimus, Shinn, or any of our friends."

"Don't you see Sentinel," Optimus asked from where he was lying. "Each of these young men before you are a prime example of why, like us, there is more to humanity than meets the eye. If their world, or any other world that they care for, is suddenly plunged into chaos again, they are more than willing to do what they feel they have to, and stand and fight to the bitter end. The same can be said of all those who follow the true Autobots' cause, a cause that you have forgotten."

Sentinel just looked between Optimus and the two boys that his puppet had at its mercy before he finally just glared at all of them and said, "Pathetic. Durandal, kill them both."

"Orders received. Carrying out now," Durandal responded mechanically, and his grip instantly tightened around Kira's throat while his foot pressed down harder on Shinn's chest, until suddenly, the sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the room and the pretender was knocked off balance. Seeing his chance, Kira immediately fired his pistol at the pretender, and he was instantly freed from the pretender's hold while Shinn was freed from the crushing might of the machine duplicate's foot, allowing them the chance to open fire on their would-be killer along with someone else.

Shinn took a quick glance to the source of the third set of shots being fired, and his eyes widened a bit when he saw that Rey was the one shooting at the fake chairman. "Rey, what're you doing here," Shinn asked.

"You were right, Shinn," Rey informed the crimson eyed pilot. "His tomorrow wasn't mine."

Shinn stared at Rey for a minute before he finally smirked and nodded in reply to his friend as they both fired a few final shots that destroyed the Durandal pretender once and for all. Upon seeing that the false version of the man he had considered a father was finally gone, Rey allowed himself to break down and start crying as he fell to his knees, only to look up once more and see Shinn looking down with a sympathetic expression when he felt his friend's hand on his shoulder.

"No," Sentinel gasped when he saw that even Rey had turned on them. Sentinel's face then quickly twisted into one of pure rage as he continued to shout the same, single word over and over again while bringing up his sword to drive it into Optimus's spark, but just as he was about to bring it down, a series of shots suddenly struck him, and caused him to drop the Energon Saber while his modulator was completely destroyed. A few more shots brought Sentinel down to his knees as Quicksilver came out of his hiding place and continued shooting at the Prime he hated so much.

"Consider this payback for starting the war, bastard," Quicksilver snarled at Sentinel as he fired one final shot. The apprentice of Starscream then looked to Optimus as he said, "Don't misunderstand, Autobot. I did this for the sake of the Decepticons, but I do not intend to do your kind any favors again anytime soon. The next time we meet, we will be enemies."

Quicksilver then assumed his motorcycle mode and raced out of the room in a near blur before any of them could stop him. At that point, Sentinel had somehow managed to shake off the injuries he had just received and pulled himself up as he asked, "Well, it would seem that I have lost this after all, but Optimus, don't forget that I played a large part in creating who you are now. So you really must ask yourself, what are you without me?"

Optimus only made a small note of how Sentinel had referred to him by his new name instead of Orion again, before he turned to Sentinel and declared, "Time to find out."

With that declaration, Optimus whipped out both the Star Saber and his battle axe, and then charged at his former friend. As soon as he was in range of Sentinel, Optimus slashed both weapons at his former friend with everything he had, never giving Sentinel a chance to retaliate. When Sentinel finally had the Energon Saber in his grasp once again, it ended up being a good fortune that did not last long, as he soon found the arm that was holding the sword being slashed off of his body by a powerful swing from Optimus's Star Saber. Upon severing Sentinel's arm, Optimus unleashed one final attack with his battle axe that would have sent Sentinel crashing through the entrance that he, Kira, and Shinn had just come through, had it not been intercepted by a large wrecking ball that knocked Sentinel onto the ground face first at the last second.

"Figured you guys could use a hand," Bulkhead explained with a shrug as he stepped into the room. "Plus, I am the guardian of one of these pilots."

Optimus only nodded to his friend as he holstered both of his weapons before arming a Path Blaster that he had brought with him and then walked over to the fallen Sentinel Prime. Just as he was standing right above Sentinel, the fallen Prime looked over his shoulder to Optimus as best he could so that he could say, "Optimus, I only had the best of intentions for you, for Cybertron, and for our kind. You know I never meant to betray you."

Optimus could only glare at Sentinel in anger as he was quickly reminded of all the things that Sentinel had done, all the lives that had been lost because of Sentinel, and all those who had suffered because of Sentinel since he had arrived on Earth, until he finally raised the Path Blaster to the back of Sentinel's head and told his former friend, "You didn't betray me. You betrayed us all, everything that we stand for, and everything you taught me."

Sentinel's optics then widened upon hearing Optimus's Path Blaster charging up to fire, and he immediately shouted in protest, "No Optimus! NO! DON'T DO THIS!"

Sentinel's pleas were not answered, as Optimus quickly fired multiple shots from his Path Blaster through Sentinel's head and spark chamber, until finally, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Sentinel Prime was dead. After gazing down at his deceased former friend for another minute or so, Optimus tapped his comm. link and shouted over the explosions, "Optimus to all points, Sentinel is down. I repeat, Sentinel is offline. All units, cease attack operations on Messiah at once."

Optimus then transformed into vehicle mode alongside Bulkhead, and they each opened the doors to allow Kira and Shinn to climb aboard. Just as he was about to get into Bulkhead though, Shinn turned and saw that Rey had not moved from where he was, and he immediately walked over and held out a hand to the blonde as he said, "Come on Rey. Let's all get out of here."

Rey looked at Shinn in surprise after hearing that, but before he could protest, Shinn just said, "I said that I had promised to protect everything and everyone important to me, and that includes you. There's no way I'm leaving my best friend behind to die."

Rey only stared at Shinn in surprise for another minute until he finally accepted Shinn's offered hand and then pulled himself up to his friend so that he could grab Shinn in a tight hug and whispered, "B…br…brother."

Shinn's eyes widened when he heard Rey say that, but he quickly smiled and returned Rey's hug for a second until he guided Rey over to Bulkhead so that they could both climb inside, just as Kira had finally climbed inside of Optimus's vehicle mode. The two Autobots then raced through the exploding hallways of Messiah as fast as they could until they made it to the hangar and allowed the three humans to board the Strike Freedom and Destiny Gundams, with Rey riding in the Destiny along with Shinn. Once they were in their mobile suits and had activated all the systems on both machines, Kira and Shinn punched the controls to their maximum and started to blast out of the hangar alongside Optimus. Just as he was about to reach the exit though, Shinn glanced back and saw that Bulkhead had not been able to take off yet, and he immediately swung around so that he could swoop down and lift up Bulkhead from behind.

"Hey Shinn, what're you doing," Bulkhead shouted. "There's no way the Destiny has nearly enough strength to lift us both out of here! Just go on ahead, and I'll be…"

"No way, Bulkhead," Shinn shouted. "This time, I'm saving you so you can get back to your family!" With that declaration, Shinn pushed the Destiny to its maximum, and the suit immediately blasted out of the hangar with Bulkhead firm in its grasp, all the while screaming in protest over how much weight it was trying to lift as it flew, until they finally made it outside where Optimus, Kira, and everyone else was waiting for them.

They then made a note of how Lacus was speaking with the remaining enemy troops and causing them all to stand down and surrender to them, as Bulkhead was finally released from the Destiny's hold. They continued to listen to Lacus's speech, which was soon joined by Optimus giving a few words of his own, until Bulkhead finally looked to the red winged Gundam and sighed, "You really would make one hell of a Wrecker, kid. I guess that's now one that I owe you. Thanks."

If Shinn's smile at Bulkhead's words were able to get any wider, it would have caused his face to be completely broken, and that same smile was quickly exchanged with Rey before Shinn finally thanked Bulkhead for his words. The three then just made their way back to their respective ships, knowing that the battle, and the war was over at last, and that a new future was just beginning.

* * *

**_AN: Well, there you have it. The end of the Second Bloody Valentine War. Now I know you're all asking obvious questions like, what happened to Starscream and the Decepticons, why would the Autobots capture the _Xanthium_ instead of destroying it, and what's going to happen to the _Xanthium_ Autobots? Well I will say that I do not intend to leave these questions unanswered, but you will have to wait a little bit before they are answered._**

**_On another matter, I hope I did not disappoint anyone on how Even Stanson and Sakura Regale had met their respective ends, and I certainly hope that everyone is satisfied with the amount of action that went into each of those battles. While I will admit that most of the other battles were much more fleshed out and impacting than the whole Kira and Shinn vs Rey thing, I have to admit, that I really did not see any other way to make it go on any longer than how it went, and even when I did find a way, I felt as though it made the story a little too long. That being said, yes Sentinel is now dead, meeting his end much the same way he did in Transformers Dark of the Moon, and hey look at that, Rey's still alive. I know some of you may not be all that fond of that fact, but in all honesty, Rey's not a bad guy, he was just raised to be how he was, but in the end he did do the right thing and tried to grab hold of a future that was his and his alone, so I honestly feel that he deserves a chance to stick around for a bit longer and see where that future will lead him._**

**_Now if you think that this is the end of Destiny Sentinels, then I'm going to tell you to think again! I said that this was the final battle in the story, not the final chapter. No, that's actually the next chapter, which you will now get an idea on as soon as I say, onto the preview!..._**

**_ The aftermath of the Second Bloody Valentine War is now fully underway, as Shinn and his friends from the _****Minerva_ meet with Kira and Lacus before an important meeting with Optimus and the Autobots that will reveal just what happens next for the Autobots and all the rest of the Transformers. Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime…_Epilogue: A New Rebirth_. Gundam, Autobots, witness the dawn of a new age!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you in the final chapter of Destiny Sentinels._**


	25. Epilogue: A New Rebirth

_**AN: And now my friends, we have come to the end of another grand tale. It was a long, tireless journey, but at long last, we have reached the end of Destiny Sentinels, and I have nothing more to say on this second tale in the saga of the Cybertron Cosmic Era. So now, let us simply carry on to the final chapter of this journey. Roll out!**_

_**I do not own anything from any of either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

**Epilogue: A New Rebirth**

A few weeks had passed since the final battle, and in that short amount of time, many things had happened that brought many changes to everyone's lives. The most notable of those changes being that when Z.A.F.T. and Orb headed up the negotiations for the cease fire so that the war would finally come to an official end, upon the conclusion of these negotiations, Lacus had decided to return to the PLANTs along with the _Eternal_ and the _Minerva_, along with all the Z.A.F.T. soldiers and pilots of both ships, save for Athrun who returned to Orb once again. Upon her return, Lacus was immediately asked to become the new Supreme Chairwoman of the PLANTs, filling the position that Durandal had left upon his death. Lacus had wanted to refuse at first, but when the people declared that they thought she was the best person to step up and take the job, along with how they did not want someone else like Durandal to take it instead, Lacus's refusal came to a swift end, and she accepted the position that her father had once held.

Along with Lacus's new position as supreme chairwoman came the addition of Kira joining the Z.A.F.T. Forces as their newest admiral and Z.A.F.T. white. Kira had stated that he did not need to think about his decision at all, because he knew that he would be able to best protect Lacus by joining Z.A.F.T. and he would not be able to see her very often if he did not do so. As soon as Kira had joined Z.A.F.T., Lacus had immediately made him a member of FAITH along with Dearka, Lunamaria, Waltfeld, and Shiho, effectively making all the Z.A.F.T. Gundam pilots members of the organization. Of course, Rey had wanted to refuse and leave Z.A.F.T., but Shinn and Kira had been able to convince the blonde man to remain with them as a proud member of FAITH.

Along with the decision to remain with Z.A.F.T., came Rey's confession to being a clone like Rau Le Creuset was, and the fact that he had short telomeres, which would inevitably lead him to an early death. Upon hearing this news, Shinn immediately approached Ratchet and Elita One in the hopes that they might be able to do something, and Rey was surprised to discover that they could. Apparently, the two medical Autobots had discovered ways to adapt Cybertronian medicine to the human body, and as such, they were able to find a way to cure Rey's condition in no time at all. The process involved an agonizingly long surgery, of course, but when it was finally over, Rey could tell that he was now as much of a healthy human being as his brother-like best friend was instantly, and the blonde was quick to thank Ratchet and Elita a million times over while he wrapped Shinn and Lunamaria in a powerful, overjoyed hug.

Meanwhile on Earth, Orb had now taken up a strong position of leadership for the planet, and as such the Alliance had been completely abolished in the place of a new world order that followed the ideals of Orb while continuing to pursue peace. With this in mind, the leaders of the world agreed that the new Sol Federation would do its utmost to have nothing but peaceful relations with the PLANTs, who were happy to accept official membership into the Federation, and that Orb should be named as the leading nation of the new world government. With that decision made, Cagalli was quick to ask that Mineva, or Audrey as she insisted her personal friends call her, to become her partner and co-leader of both Orb and the Sol Federation, due to the blonde woman feeling that she could not handle the responsibility of leading both her nation and the world on her own. Seeing how adamant Cagalli was on the matter, Audrey happily agreed and the two now lead Orb as the co-chief representatives and the world as co-leaders of the Sol Federation.

Athrun was quick to join the Orb military so that he could continue doing what he felt that he was meant to do, and so that he could be certain that he would be able to protect Cagalli to the best of his abilities, not that she really needed it all that much after all they had been through, but sadly, Athrun was the only other one of the remaining human members of the Five Ships Alliance to rejoin a formal military right away. Once they had returned to Orb, Murrue and Mu had settled down in the old seaside home that Waltfeld had let Murrue and Natarle live in after the previous war, and it was only mere days after that before Mu La Flaga decided to take on his greatest mission ever and asked Murrue Ramius to marry him. It surprised no one when the former captain of the_Archangel_ gave him a tearful smile and said yes, and now the two were in the midst of planning for the big day with Natarle serving as Murrue's maid of honor. Natarle herself had ended up enlisting in Orb's military as well after a week of living with Mu and Murrue in that same seaside house, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Natarle would soon end up as the captain of an Orb ship in the near future. Natarle did not think it was likely to happen all that soon for the moment, but she considered that to be a good thing since she did not want too much to interfere with her duties as Murrue's maid of honor.

While things seemed to be going quite well for the young heroes, none of the good fortune that they had found for themselves did anything to ease the worry they had begun to feel for the Autobots. A few days after the final battle had taken place and anything involving them in the negotiations for the cease fire had been dealt with, the Autobots seemed to just disappear from everyone's lives. Oh, Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack would come by and visit their friends every now and then, but those visits were relatively short and had barely any conversation about anything involving what they and the other Autobots were doing. This did not stop them from learning from the young scout that the Decepticons had taken a chance to flee to some far away planet sometime after Quicksilver had attacked Sentinel, under Starscream's orders of course, and that by the time the Autobots had discovered this fact, any chance of tracing their path had all but vanished already. Naturally this would have been cause for anyone to worry as to what Starscream's next move might be, but Bumblebee was quick to assure everyone that the Autobots would be ready for the day when the Decepticons returned once again.

Of course, that still did not answer one of the most important questions concerning matters with the Autobots. That was the question of what would happen to the surviving _Xanthium_ Autobots. While most of the _Xanthium_ crew members had joined up with Optimus's team near the end of the war, it still did not excuse the fact that they were a part of Sentinel's plans for some time, no matter how briefly, so everyone was naturally worried about what that would mean for the situation concerning 'Bots like Smokescreen, Crosshairs, and Drift. Athrun in particular was especially worried about what would happen to Smokescreen, as he had not seen the young Autobot since the final battle, and if he were to be honest, Athrun had developed a strong bond of friendship with Smokescreen that he felt was similar to the ones that had been formed between Kira, Optimus, and Bumblebee, Cagalli and Arcee, and all the rest of his friends who had developed a strong bond with any of the Transformers.

None of that mattered at the moment, as Athrun was now currently standing at the same memorial that Shinn had first met Kira at, along with Shinn, Lunamaria, Meyrin, Rey, and Shinn's little sister Mayu, who had finally convinced Shinn to let her come with them when they came to Orb. As she set a bouquet of flowers on the small marker, Lunamaria could not help but look around at what was left of the memorial site. The battle on Onogoro island had destroyed most of what was once the beautiful, flower covered site, and now, it was nothing more than a ruined shadow of its former self. Needless to say, it was quite a saddening sight for all of them.

"You know, when I first came here, I kind of hated this place a bit," Shinn softly admitted to everyone, drawing all of their attention to him. "I thought that it was nothing more than a reminder of what others had failed to protect, what they had failed to save, but now, after seeing it like this, I realize how wrong I was to think like that. I really hate it like this, and I wish that I could do something to make it as beautiful as it was before."

"Shinn," Lunamaria whispered as she and Mayu gazed at the young man sadly, understanding exactly what he was saying. Athrun wanted to say something to Shinn himself, when a familiar robotic cry reached his ears, and he immediately looked up to see Birdie flying over them just as Kira and Lacus walked up, both dressed in civilian attire and with the latter carrying her own bouquet of flowers.

"Kira, Lacus," Athrun softly called out in surprise, getting the attention of the other four to be drawn to the now supreme chairwoman of the PLANTs and the now FAITH admiral of Z.A.F.T. "What are you two doing here? I thought you would be busy at the PLANTs."

"Someone called us and asked us to come here," Kira explained. "We figured we'd drop off some flowers while we were here as well."

Athrun and the others nodded for a minute, and then moved aside so Lacus could place her flowers alongside Lunamaria's and Mayu's. They all then stood in respectful silence for a minute until Shinn looked to his sister to see her staring at Kira, and then cleared his throat and said, "Mayu, this guy here is Kira Yamato, pilot of the Freedom, and the guy who allowed humanity to make first contact with the Autobots."

Mayu softly gasped in surprise at her brother confirming her suspicions as to who the young man who had just arrived with Lacus Clyne was, and she continued to stare in surprise until Kira held his hand out to her and smiled as he said, "It's nice to finally meet you Mayu. Shinn's told us all a lot about you, both intentionally and accidentally while you two were on the phone with each other."

Mayu hesitated for a minute until she finally grasped Kira's hand in an eager handshake that led her to squeal like a fan girl as she said, "It is so awesome to meet you Mister Yamato, and I cannot believe that I'm finally meeting the guy who allowed humanity to meet the Autobots who have now saved our world twice, and who helped them to do so both times!"

"Hey, I helped too," Shinn reminded his sister.

"Yeah, but you're my brother, and you were inspired by one of the Autobots. Mister Yamato actually allowed humanity to form friendly relations with the Autobots and has done all kinds of other amazing things," Mayu retorted in that tone that siblings get when they are playfully messing with each other.

"Oh, well thanks a lot," Shinn remarked in playful sarcasm.

"I'm flattered really," Kira then cut in. "But you can just call me Kira. After all, I consider you a friend as much as I do Shinn."

Mayu was instantly beaming in excitement as she eagerly nodded to Kira in acceptance of this, and Shinn could not help but smile along with his sister, an action that the others quickly followed. After a minute, Kira looked around the site before he finally glanced at Shinn and asked, "Shinn, do you remember the question you asked when we first met out here?" Shinn raised an eyebrow in confusion at Kira's question, but nodded all the same, which prompted Kira to continued saying, "Well, I think I know the answer now. No matter how many times they're blown away, we'll always keep replanting new flowers. So long as there's someone to keep doing that, then we're succeeding in protecting everything important. I truly believe that every time those new flowers that bloom after great struggle, are a sign of better things to come, and of a brighter, peaceful future coming closer. Will you keep fighting that battle with us Shinn?"

Shinn gazed at Kira in awe for a few seconds, processing the words Kira had just said, until he finally smiled and shook hands with Kira saying, "Yes. So long as I pilot a Gundam, I'll never stop protecting everything and everyone for that better future."

"The same goes for me," Lunamaria said as she placed her hand atop Kira and Shinn's.

"Same here," Rey stated as he did the same as Lunamaria.

"We all will," Athrun said as he followed the actions of his friends. "We're all Gundam pilots and allies of the Autobots, and like the old saying goes, once a Gundam pilot and Autobot, always a Gundam pilot and Autobot."

They all remained like that for a few more minutes as the wind blew through their hair and the ocean lapped against the shore, until someone finally called out, "I hope you guys don't think that little statement just applies to you and not all the rest of us as well."

Everyone instantly turned to see Cagalli walking up to them with a bright smile on her face as she approached. "What are you doing here Cagalli," Kira asked. "I thought you'd be working today."

"Not today," Cagalli replied. "I got a call from some old friends that asked me to meet them out here along with you guys. They said that it was really important and that they wanted us all to be here."

"Wait, who're you talking about," Shinn finally asked. His answer quickly came when they heard the sounds of multiple horns blaring and upon turning to the source, their eyes instantly widened when they saw the vehicle forms of Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Smokescreen all rolling up to the side of the curb.

"Smokescreen," Athrun exclaimed in surprise. "What're you doing here? I thought that you and the others…"

"We'll explain a bit later," Bumblebee answered for the younger Autobot. "But first, there's somewhere you guys need to be, and someone who wants to see you all."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded to Bumblebee in acceptance of these words and then allowed Bumblebee to tell them who each of them would be riding with. Cagalli ended up riding with Arcee, Athrun with Smokescreen, Kira and Lacus with Bumblebee, and finally, Shinn and the others were all piled into Bulkhead. Once everyone was with their respective rides, the Autobots immediately rolled out and raced away from the memorial site until they ended up racing through a Ground Bridge portal.

As soon as they emerged on the other side of the green vortex, Kira and the others immediately climbed out of their Autobot rides and glanced around at the place they were in. "Are we on the_Omega II_," Cagalli asked after a minute.

"No, but you're close," Arcee replied.

After looking around for another minute, Shinn, Lunamaria, Rey, and Athrun immediately recognized where they were standing, and it led the pilot of the Destiny to exclaim, "This is the_Xanthium_!"

"Yep, and it's under new management," Bumblebee stated proudly as he and the other Autobots walked towards the door. Kira and the others immediately followed after them through the corridors of Sentinel's former ship until they finally came onto the bridge, and found Optimus Prime and most of his team standing there along with Crosshairs, Blaster, Drift, and Blur almost like they were waiting for them.

"Welcome aboard my friends," Optimus greeted the young humans with a smile as he and the other Autobots helped them up to a position where they would be able to have a good view through the ship's windows.

Upon glancing out the window to the left, Kira gasped in shock when he saw the _Archangel_, the _Eternal_, and the _Kusanagi_ all floating in space alongside them. Shinn then mirrored Kira's actions as he looked out the opposite window, and gasped when he saw the _Minerva_ and the _Omega II_ floating out in space right alongside the massive Autobot ship on its right side. After staring at the other ships that were out there with the _Xanthium_ and gathered around it like they were in some sort of strange formation, Kira finally turned back to Optimus and asked, "What's going on? What have you guys been doing all this time?"

"More importantly, what's going to happen to Smokescreen and the others," Athrun asked before anyone could answer Kira's first question.

Optimus's smiling face immediately became somber as he informed them, "The members of Sentinel's inner circle, Chromia, Mirage, Kup, and Scattershot, will be facing a life cycle stasis imprisonment for their crimes. While normally, their acts of treachery would warrant a death sentence, I feel that there has already been enough Autobot energon spilled in our war with the Decepticons, and that this is the best alternative."

Cagalli looked to Arcee upon hearing this and placed a hand on her big sister figure, which prompted Arcee to smile and say, "Don't worry, little sister. I'll be okay. I'm just still trying to come to terms with the fact that the Chromia who was once my older sister really did die when the _Xanthium_ was first lost all those years ago."

"But, where are they right now," Shinn asked.

"They're aboard the _Omega II_," Bulkhead said. "Jazz and the Dinobots are keeping a close eye on them from there, so there's no way that they're going anywhere before we get them to their new home in prison, even if they weren't in stasis cuffs."

"But that still doesn't explain what will happen to Crosshairs and the others who joined up with us at the end," Lunamaria protested, already feeling tears stinging her eyes at the mere thought of what might happen to her friend.

Optimus then gave the violet haired girl a reassuring smile as he said, "While it is true that the other members of the original _Xanthium_ crew did follow Sentinel's lead, we did not forget that in the end they did in fact see the error of their ways, and because of that, they will face lighter sentences. They will be serving a brief amount of time in stasis prison, but if they serve their time well, and as humans would say, show good behavior, they will be allowed to rejoin the Autobots."

"Smokescreen actually got the lightest punishment since he joined up with us almost immediately after Sentinel revealed his true colors," Arcee then revealed. "He'll just be serving some community service after we get back, and then he's a free 'Bot again."

Everyone smiled at this news, until Rey frowned upon taking note of something Arcee had said. "What do you mean by 'get back'? It sounds like you guys are leaving."

Kira and the others immediately looked at Optimus with the same question in their eyes, which led Optimus to simply smile and say, "Not leaving, Rey Za Burrel. Returning."

Everyone gained a look of confusion at Optimus's words before Optimus glanced out to his left and led the rest of them to do the same right when what appeared to be the space fortress Messiah had appeared before their eyes. Ratchet then stepped forward and explained, "After we had settled everything we needed to at the peace conferences, I led a team to repair the Messiah fortress and its cyber matter ray. Unfortunately, the repairs will only hold for one final shot, which is all we will get since there's only enough cyber matter for just as many bursts as well."

"Why would you repair it in the first place," Athrun asked. "Isn't it too dangerous to be left out here?"

"That would be true, if we weren't planning on using it as soon as possible," Smokescreen explained.

Everyone looked to Optimus as he once again took the floor and said, "After we had captured the _Xanthium_, Bumblebee's team discovered that the miniaturized Space Bridge generator is fully intact and completely functional, and after extensive testing, we now believe that is safe to use so that we may return to Cybertron at last, and use the Messiah's cyber matter ray to restore Cybertron to life."

Everyone gasped in shock at hearing the news of the Autobots finally being able to go home and restore life to their planet after so long, until eventually Kira shook himself out of his shock and had to ask, "So why are you telling us this?"

"It is for the same reason that I have asked you all here today," Optimus explained with a smile. "Kira Yamato, Athrun Zala, Cagalli Yulla Athha, Lacus Clyne, Shinn Asuka, Lunamaria and Meyrin Hawke, and Rey Za Burrel. You and your friends and allies have stood with us throughout the darkest hours of both conflicts that we had faced together, and you helped us to live among your race as we came to consider your world as our second home. This is something that we can never hope to repay you all for, and that is also why we would like to ask you all, if you and your comrades would join us in our return to Cybertron and in our attempts to restore our homeworld as well."

Kira and the others were all immensely shocked beyond belief now, and for a moment none of them were entirely sure what to say, but when they saw the Autobots all looking at them as though they were begging the young pilots to say yes, Kira could not help but smile as he stepped forward and said, "We'd be honored, Optimus Prime."

Optimus nodded in thanks for this, and then went on to say that all the other friends that they had made since the Autobots had arrived on Earth would be joining them as well, which was proven true the minute an image of who was gathered on the other ships was brought up on the monitors. Everyone from Sahib and the Desert Dawn, to Coniel, to the entire Joule team and Meer Campbell, and even all of Kira's old friends from Heliopolis that had joined the _Archangel_ crew including Kuzzey were aboard at least one of the other human ships, and upon seeing all the people that had gathered together for this, everyone could not help but feel overwhelmed by how great the event they were about to witness would be. Seeing that everything appeared to be in place, Ratchet tapped a control and called out, "_Xanthium_ to all vessels. We're preparing to activate the Space Bridge now. Be advised that traveling through a Space Bridge is no different from the Ground Bridge aside from the distance that we will be crossing, but even so, I must request that all vessels check in to signal that they are ready to roll out."

_"This is the _Archangel_,"_ Murrue called out from the captain's seat of her ship. _"We're ready."_

_"_Omega II_ here. Ready to roll, Doc,"_ Jazz then radioed in.

_"This is the _Minerva_. We're ready as well,"_ Talia then responded.

_"_Eternal_, ready to head out,"_ Waltfeld then called out.

_"_Kusanagi_, ready when you are,"_ Kisaka then declared.

Blaster then turned form his console to the others as he announced, "All vessels report ready to go, so let's quit sitting around and get on with the show."

Optimus nodded in agreement and then gave the order for the Space Bridge to be activated. A moment later, a large blue colored version of the Ground Bridge appeared before the gathered ships, and the Messiah was sent through, followed by the other vessels, and ending with the _Xanthium_. Upon emerging from the other side of the vortex, Kira and the others gasped in shock as they saw Cybertron itself before their very eyes, and even though this was their first time seeing the planet, they had to admit that its dark colors and lack of lights truly did give it a saddening, dead appearance. Thankfully, that fact was about to change very soon.

"Optimus, you do know that if this doesn't work, then we won't have any cyber matter left, or even an apparatus to disperse more when we find a way to create more, don't you," Ratchet asked.

"I am aware of that old friend," Optimus nodded sadly. "That is why we must fire Neo GENESIS at place where the cyber matter will be able to take effect the most quickly and effectively."

"You mean…fire at Cybertron's core," Ratchet gasped. When Optimus nodded in reply, Ratchet simply returned the nod and then typed in the commands to move Messiah into the position. Everyone could only watch with their breath held and fingers crossed as the space fortress moved out of sight towards the metal planet, until Ratchet finally announced, "Messiah is in position. Activating Neo GENESIS…now."

Upon hearing Ratchet's announcement, everyone found themselves becoming tense, as many of them were soon beginning to pray to whatever god or deity that they believed in that this would work. A few minutes past, and for a moment it seemed nothing was going to happen, until Mayu suddenly let out a soft gasp as she whispered, "Look at that."

When everyone brought their attention to what Mayu had indicated, they immediately saw a bit of Cybertron beginning to glow and shine against the darkness of space and the rest of darkened planet, and that small glow began to grow bigger, and bigger, until finally, it encompassed the entire planet and the metal world seemed to shine more brightly than the brightest stars, and the darkened silver and gold colors of the Transformers' homeworld became bright, shinning bluish silver and gold. Upon seeing this, everyone gained an expression of great joy and happiness, even to the point where some of them were shedding tears of joy, among which were Dearka and Yzak, who were not ashamed to admit it, and the only thing anyone could say for a moment was when Cagalli had finally said, "Planet Cybertron…it's beautiful."

"Indeed it is," Optimus agreed. "Much like the Earth. My friends of Earth and the PLANTs, I welcome you to a reborn Cybertron, and to my Autobots, I simply say welcome home."

The minute Optimus said that, everyone, Transformer and human alike, immediately erupted into an outburst of cheers and cries of joy, as friends exchanged high-fives, lovers entrapped each other in a loving embrace, and all simply began to celebrate the rebirth of the Transformers' homeworld.

* * *

Far away from the celebrations of Cybertron's rebirth, on the planet known as Charr, the Decepticons had recently ceased repairs on the _Nemesis_ to officially re-crown Starscream as their rightful leader, feeling that it was a great necessity after what had happened with Sentinel, but just as they were commencing the ceremony, someone suddenly blasted the doors to the chamber open, cutting everything short. "Who dares disrupt my coronation," Starscream demanded.

"Coronation Starscream? This is bad comedy," a deep, menacing, and very familiar voice chuckled in response. Starscream froze upon hearing this voice, and everyone's attention was drawn to the door where they saw Cyclonus, Demolisher, Bonecrusher, and Astrotrain enter the room right behind the one who had spoken, and who bore a striking resemblance to someone that the Decepticons had long thought dead.

"L-Lord Megatron," Starscream exclaimed in surprise. "But…this is impossible! I saw the Autobots snuff your spark with my own optics!"

"Ah yes," the one who Starscream had addressed as Megatron replied. "You did see Megatron's demise, Starscream, but as you can see, like the mighty phoenix of human legend, I have been reborn from the ashes as a new being."

"What," Starscream gasped, but then he took a moment to get a better look at the leader of the intruders and realized a small flaw in what he had originally noticed. "You…You're not Lord Megatron. You dare to take on the form of our fallen master! Decepticons, destroy this desecrating intruder!"

Some Vehicons and Insecticons were quick to react to Starscream's order, but the figure that bore such a striking resemblance to Megatron simply raised his left hand up and shot out a burst of what looked like purple lightning that instantly blasted them all away. Upon seeing this, all the other Decepticons seemed to back off in fear of what would happen should they follow Starscream's orders, allowing the Megatron-look-a-like to slowly walk up to where Starscream stood. "What are you doing," Starscream demanded, getting a little nervous as he saw the being approach him. "Is there no one who would oppose this…this pretender to the throne and who dares to insult our master's memory?!"

"Fight your own battles Starscream," Slipstream shouted out.

Starscream only snarled before he commanded Quicksilver to do something, and his apprentice was quick to move in and open fire on the intruder. The Megatron-look-a-like seemed to struggle a bit against Quicksilver, mostly due to the smaller Decepticon's speed, but soon enough Quicksilver was pinned down on the ground, and the being could only chuckle and say, "It would seem your master has trained you well, little flyer."

"I may be smaller than most 'Bots, but my speed more than makes up for that," Quicksilver snarled.

"So it does," the figure agreed before he walked right up to where Starscream was standing and then transformed into a Cybertronian tank as he shouted, "Starscream, your mockery of a reign is at an end!"

With that declaration, Starscream was quickly blasted off the throne he was standing before by the Cybertronian tank, and Quicksilver was quick to rush to his master's side, breathing a sigh of relief when he found that Starscream was alive. As they did that, the figure reassumed his robot mode and then turned to the Decepticons as he declared, "My Decepticon brothers and sisters, I know many of you may seem skeptical of my claims, but I assure you, I am Megatron reborn anew, and in my absence I discovered a great deal of things that allowed my rebirth to be possible. Now I see a great truth that I had never realized before. Simply having Cybertron and defeating the Autobots is not enough, for so long as there is even one world out there with beings that would oppose us, our reign and our ambitions will never be realized. For that reason, I intend to take not only Cybertron, but the entire universe, whether the world is one of Transformers, humans, or any other life form in existence. I know that this is no simple task, but rest assured, I would not ask any more of you than I am willing to do myself, and I will do everything possible to make the universe our own or I will die in the quest. My Decepticons, will you stand with me?"

The Decepticons all seemed silent for a moment before Demolisher lead the other three who had come in along with the being that had now effectively seized power of the Decepticons from Starscream and stood in salute before their master, and the action was soon followed by the Seeker siblings and the other Decepticons as well as Demolisher began to say, "All hail…"

"No," the figure interrupted. "Kneel before…**Galvatron**!"

The Decepticons all looked amongst themselves for a moment or so, before they began to do just as Galvatron had told them, all the while saying, "All hail Galvatron!", and after a few moments of glaring at the one who had seized control of his forces from him, Starscream ended up doing the same as well.

* * *

Later that same day, Starscream was storming through the halls of the base that the Decepticons had set up on Charr as he ranted, "Who does that upstart think he is?! Claiming to be Megatron reborn, and then just waltzing in here and seizing control like he owns the place!"

"Master, I realize that this is a trying time and I do not wish to argue, but given the information that was recovered from Heavens Base, it is very likely that Lord Galvatron is in fact who he claims to be," Quicksilver told Starscream as calmly as he could.

"Keep that to yourself," Starscream snapped. "We don't need anyone knowing of this information just yet. All the same, it does not matter if that thing in there is merely just a malfunctioning drone from that _Project: Nemesis_ thing of LOGOS's or not, I will not simply allow this kind of humiliation to my person stand any longer!"

"Master," Quicksilver asked.

"First Sentinel Prime and then this Galvatron," Starscream muttered for a moment. "The Decepticons are mine to rule, and yet every time control is in my grasp there is someone who pries it out of my fingers! Well, I will not allow this to stand any longer! It's high time that I take my rightful place as the true leader of the Decepticons, and I will not let anyone stand in my way!"

Quicksilver then smirked and said, "That's just what I was hoping to hear sir." At Starscream's look of confusion, Quicksilver gestured for his master to follow him to his quarters as he explained, "When I filed my report on my travels, I left out some details regarding how successful my travels were. I did not want to risk the wrong people finding out the information of what I had found."

"What do you mean by that," Starscream asked as they stepped into Quicksilver's room.

Quicksilver simply turned to his master and asked, "I suppose you've heard the legends of the weapon of Megatronus that was said to be capable of leveling mountains at minimum, and a large asteroid at most. A weapon that could draw its power from a quasar's sound waves, a supernova's thermal energy, or a black hole's gravity, and was said to have been lost to the stars ages ago after it was forged."

"Yes, I am well aware of the legend," Starscream replied. "And as I recall, your reports said that a part of your journey was to discover its current whereabouts, but unfortunately you never did."

"That is actually not true," Quicksilver replied, and he then clicked on the lights, and Starscream's attention was immediately brought to a large, extravagant rifle that seemed to just resonate with power, almost as though it were creating its own gravity field. After allowing his master to observe the weapon for a minute, Quicksilver walked over to the rifle as he explained, "I said what I did in my report because I felt that this weapon was far too dangerous for anyone to possess, but at the same time it was far too powerful to not be used. So I elected to simply wait until I felt the time was right to reveal to you that my quest was indeed successful, and I believe that time is now. Master Starscream, I give you…the Requiem Blaster."

Upon hearing Quicksilver's confirmation on what the weapon he was staring at was, Starscream's astonished look instantly turned into a smirk of deviousness and cunning that would serve as a sign for terrible things to come to any individual that opposed him, and the whole time, the Seeker was thinking to himself, _Your days are now numbered, Lord Galvatron._

* * *

In another part of Charr, Galvatron had set up a small, secret enclosed area that was off limits to all the Decepticons, including his most loyal followers, and he then stood in the center of the room and waited until a sudden burst of purple flames and smoke seemed to surround him as his crimson-purple optics glowed more brightly than normal as he said, "Everything is as you wished it to be, Master. The Decepticons are now mine once again, and the Autobots are none the wiser."

**"Excellent my loyal follower,"** a deep, dark voice said in reply that would cause one to shiver in fear for thinking that the voice of the devil itself had just spoken. **"And what of the new army that we will be forming?"**

"Shockwave was recovered during my absence and has already begun work on the project that will grant us warriors that will be unlike anything Optimus Prime has ever seen," Galvatron replied. "It is now only a matter of time until they are ready, and until we are able to begin the process that shall lead to your return."

**"Yes. My time to return is coming, and soon, the disciple of Primus shall fall before my might, but only after I have destroyed his mighty creator once and for all, right before his optics, and when Primus and Cybertron are in ashes, then he will have my permission to die,"** the monstrous voice declared as his dark red and purple eyes illuminate the wall before Galvatron.

"As it shall be," Galvatron bowed. "Lord Unicron."

* * *

A few hours after the celebrations on the ships had finally died down, everyone had immediately moved to land on Cybertron, and every human that had come with the Transformers had to admit, that in its own way, Cybertron was even more beautiful up close on the ground than it was from space. This was further enforced by the fact that Athrun and Cagalli had found a place to slip away to without anyone noticing, and then simply gazed at the bright, sun lit skies of Cybertron together. "It really is quite beautiful," Cagalli sighed.

"Yeah it is," Athrun agreed, but he knew that Cagalli was not as alright as she was trying to appear to be. Athrun could tell that Cagalli had been trying to hide something from him, and so, deciding that he needed to find out what it was, Athrun asked, "Cagalli, is everything okay?"

"Yeah of course," Cagalli insisted. "I mean Earth and the PLANTs are finally in a long-lasting peace, Cybertron has been reborn, and our friends in the Autobots are able to finally come back to their world. Why would something be wrong?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Athrun told her, knowingly. "More importantly, why don't you tell me why you've been trying to hide your right hand from me all day?"

Cagalli immediately tensed up when Athrun said that, and then immediately sighed as she slipped said hand out of the pocket she had been hiding it in, revealing that something was missing from it. "I lost the ring you gave me," Cagalli admitted. "I'm sorry."

Athrun only smiled at Cagalli after hearing this before he simply said, "You don't need to apologize, because you didn't lose it."

Cagalli looked up at Athrun in confusion for a minute, until Athrun pulled the very thing that she had just mentioned out of his pocket. "But when did you," Cagalli gasped.

"I asked Kira to get it for me," Athrun replied. "But not because I wanted it back, but rather because the last time I gave it to you, I was saying goodbye, when in reality I should've given it to you when I was saying something else." At that point, Athrun got down on one knee and taken Cagalli's hand in his as he then said, "Cagalli, I once told you that you and I could protect each other, and that's much truer than you realize, because I don't know how I could live without you. You're the light of my life and the reason why I keep fighting so hard even after all that's happened, and I want that to never change. That's why when I give you the ring this time, I'm also asking you this: Cagalli Yula Athha, will you marry me?"

Cagalli's eyes had instantly widened as she gasped after hearing Athrun say that, but her look of surprise immediately turned to one of loving joy as she said, "Yes, yes, absolutely yes!"

Athrun and Cagalli then found themselves in a passionate kiss after Athrun slipped the ring onto Cagalli's finger once more, and they found that they were not likely to break the kiss even if the need to breathe arose until a sudden applause reached their ears and they turned to see all their friends and loved ones standing there cheering for them. "Well, it's about time," Dearka smirked.

"Agreed," Miriallia said as she slipped her hand into the blonde's.

"Kind of makes you wonder when a certain someone is going to pop the question to the supreme chairwoman, huh Kira," Shinn asked with a knowing look.

"Whoa! Watch it Shinn," Kira immediately said as he and Lacus both gained a small blush at the Destiny pilot's comment.

"It would seem that today is the beginning of many new and bright futures," Optimus then commented.

"Speaking of which," Ratchet suddenly said, gaining everyone's attention as he approached Optimus. "Optimus, I would like to request that I be allowed to remain on Earth as Cybertron's official liaison between our two worlds."

Optimus and everyone else gasped in shock at Ratchet's request, since they had all long thought that out of all the Autobots, Ratchet was one of the ones who wanted to return home the most. "Are you sure that this is what you want old friend," Optimus asked.

"Yes, it is," Ratchet replied. "I feel that I would serve both worlds best if I were on Earth."

Optimus seemed to consider Ratchet's request for another moment and then nodded in acceptance of it as he said, "Very well old friend."

"Sir, Arcee and I have a request as well," Bumblebee suddenly said as he and the mentioned femme stepped forward from the gathered Autobots. "Once Cybertron's restoration is completed to a point where we would not be needed, we would like to be allowed to return to Earth as well so that we can stay with Kira and Cagalli."

"I'd like to do the same as well, so I can show Shinn all the ropes to being a full-on Wrecker," Bulkhead suddenly said as he stepped forward.

Optimus looked at the three before him for a minute until he finally smiled and said, "Very well, but there will be one other matter that you will have to attend to first. I believe that a certain promotion to warrior is long overdue."

The meaning behind Optimus's words was not lost on anyone, as everyone instantly gasped in shock before Bumblebee asked, "Do you…really mean…"

"Yes Bumblebee," Optimus replied. "You once told me that you wanted to wait until we returned to Cybertron before you were promoted to the rank of warrior, and I believe that you have now more than earned it."

Upon hearing this, Bumblebee's smile of joy grew wide enough to cover the entirety of his face while everyone immediately began cheering in excitement and congratulations of both the scout and of the newly engaged Athrun and Cagalli. Seeing all these events beginning to unfold before his optics truly warmed Optimus's spark to great levels, and his smile of joy was one that only Elita was normally privy to seeing. After watching his friends and loved ones who he had long since come to consider his family celebrate for another moment, Optimus Prime then moved off to send out a new message across the cosmos that was not unlike the one he had sent out from Earth after the First Bloody Valentine War, but now held a new piece of information that needed to be shared with all of their kind, the whole time knowing that the future was now truly seeming to be even brighter than ever before.

* * *

**With our homeworld now restored to life, we Autobots take great comfort in knowing that we can come home at last, but we also hold great joy in the knowledge that we also have another world that we can call home in the form of the homeworld of humanity alongside those of Earth who we had fought beside, and who we now consider to be as much a part of our family as we no doubt are considered as part of theirs. With this knowledge in mind, it is understandable if any Autobots would wish to travel to Earth instead of Cybertron, for if they do, they will find that they are not alone, and that they will be more than welcome there. My name is Optimus Prime, and I send this message to all Autobots across the stars: Cybertron lives again, but we still have a home on Planet Earth, and we will be waiting for you on both of these homes. Above all though, do not believe that our struggles are now no more, for in my spark, I know that this is not the end, but merely a new beginning. Simply put, another transformation.**

* * *

**The End...for now.**

* * *

_**AN: And there you have it. That concludes the tale of Destiny Sentinels, but just as Optimus had said, this is not the end, for there is still more to come. Galvatron now reigns over the Decepticons while Starscream and Quicksilver plot behind his back, and within all this darkness, looms the the greatest threat to all the universe, for Unicron's return is now upon us. Now I know you are all hoping that I will start work on the final story of the Cybertron Cosmic Era right away, but I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you and say that I am going to have to take a break from this series for the moment. With the release of the newest Avengers movie now right on top of us, I can already feel my drive for writing being directed towards the stories of Code: Avengers, and other similar adventures, along with a new idea that one of my loyal followers has helped me to flesh out, so I'm sorry but you will have to wait for a little bit before the final story in this trilogy comes out, but I promise that I'll try not to take too long before I come back to this.**_

_**Now with that said, I know most of you were hoping that I would have Kira and Lacus at least get engaged in this story, but in all honesty, I felt that so much as Kira proposing to Lacus was something that you do not end a story with, but rather is an event so great that it sparks the beginnings of the ultimate adventure, so there's a little Easter egg for you all there. As for the whole Athrun proposing to Cagalli thing, I really liked that couple and I thought it was a shame that they never really said if Athrun and Cagalli had resolved things between them, as far as I know, so I honestly wanted this to happen this time around.**_

_**Now as for Smokescreen and the other **_**Xanthium_ Autobots, the only ones of them that you will not be very likely to see again besides Sentinel and Tracks for obvious reasons, are the remaining members of the inner circle, but the rest of them will return in the final story. So for now, I simply say enjoy my other stories of heroes and adventures, and have yourselves a small little teaser when I say, onto the preivew!..._**

**_After nearly three years of many wonderful and joyous events, the greatest darkness known to all suddenly looms before our heroes once again, and this time, the adventure is so great with so many heroes joining the fight that it will take more than just Earth, the PLANTs, and Cybertron to truly tell the tale, as the Autobots and the Gundam pilots reunite once again in a battle that will take them all across the universe. Their mission will lead them to rediscovering and reopening the long lost bridges to Transformer colony worlds, encountering dangers that were long thought lost, and praying that the greatest forces of good will find a way to light what is truly our darkest hour, all in an effort to save the entire universe from the threat of Unicron's return. Next time in the Cybertron Cosmic Era..._Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Chaos Hunters_. Brace yourselves for the ultimate adventure to end all adventures Gundam and Autobots!_**

**_Please read and review, and I'll see you next time in either one of my other stories or the first chapter of the final story in the Cybertron Cosmic Era._**


End file.
